The Call of the Void
by YouRang
Summary: What happens if Natasha's sister isn't really dead, like the Black Widow thought? What if she was trained to track and kill the Winter Soldier but was abandoned by HYDRA when her experiment went awry and the Avengers release her from cyrofreeze? Post Civil-War, slightly Non-Canon. No Infinity War, No Thanos. I only owe Nika/Lev. Rated M - violence, language, smut. TRIGGER WARNINGS
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Bucky leaned forwards, grabbing a handful from the bowl on the coffee table in front of him and glancing to his right, where Steve sprawled in an armchair at the end of the couch Bucky was currently holding down. "If the bus goes slower than 50, it explodes?"

Steve quirked the corner of his mouth, eyes staying locked on the screen. "Yeah."

"That's ridiculous."

"It was the Nineties; it was almost as batshit as the Eighties."

Bucky turned back to the TV, popping a few bits of Pirate's Booty into his mouth and frowned, about to ask another question when a crisp female voice spoke. "Captain Rogers, Sergeant Barnes, Mr. Stark is calling an emergency meeting and has requested your immediate presence."

"Where at, FRIDAY?" Steve asked, chewing thoughtfully.

"In the main briefing room, Captain."

The men shared a fleeting look and Steve lifted the remote, stopping the movie. Almost as one they stood and walked silently to the door. Even though he was an infamous drama queen and attention whore, Stark didn't call 'emergency' meetings willy nilly.

Stark sat at the head of the table when they arrived, his eyes flicking briefly to them before turning again to the figure pacing restlessly between the table and the wall of windows currently shuttered closed. Clint and Wanda hustled in behind them and quickly sat, Clint staring with concern at Natasha, the one pacing madly.

"Alright, let's get this party started." Stark mumbled, sounding surprisingly subdued; that, more so than Natasha's frenetic pacing, made Bucky's skin goosebump with anxiety.

Stark watched Nat for a heartbeat. "Care to join us, Widow?"

Mumbling lowly in Russian, Nat whirled and flung herself into a chair opposite the rest of the team. When Stark didn't immediately start speaking she threw him an exasperated look. Raising his brows mildly, Stark began.

"We found Widow's sister."

Nearly identical frowns skittered across the team's faces before Steve voiced what they all were thinking. "We didn't know you had a sister, or that she needed to be found."

Nat sighed, looking down, curling her nails into the tabletop. "Neither did I, I thought she died fourteen years ago."

Clint chuckled weakly. "You're going to have to start at the beginning, sweetheart."

Nat drew in a deep breath, eyes focussed with laser intensity at the spot on the table currently being worried by her nails. "Dominika," she began, her voice taking on the Russian lilt, giving the name an ethereal sound. "Two years younger than me, and before you ask, yes. My full-blooded sister, we were both brought into the program at the same time. We were trained separately, divided by age into different classes, but Nika was good, I mean really good. The best in her class, hands down-"

"Better than you?" Steve asked warily.

Nat met his gaze evenly. "Yes." She paused before starting again. "I was being prepped for my first mission when I received the news that she had become sick and died-" the team shifted uncomfortably at Nat's flat voice. "She was eighteen and I demanded to see her, I couldn't believe she could just... leave like that. I would never have trusted their word, but I saw her, I _touched_ her. She was cooling already, starting to stiffen and to make sure I took my knife and cut her throat."

"Jesus, Nat." Steve grumbled.

"Not fully," Nat looked up, a strange gleam in her eyes. "Just enough to see if her blood flowed, and it didn't. She was _dead_. Or so I thought... when you found Zemo and those executed Super Soldiers up in Siberia, Tony uncovered a huge cache of classified computer files. He downloaded them and brought them back."

"But, in the _clusterfuck_ that came afterward, I forgot about them. Not too long ago I remembered and put FRIDAY on them. They're heavily encrypted and she still hasn't fully cracked them all, but we found this."

"A double agent faked Nika's death and took her underground into a _secret_ secret project in HYDRA. For two years she was trained and experimented on. They injected her with the same serum as you," her eyes flicked briefly to Bucky, "and moulded her to become a female Winter Soldier, but with a twist." Nat broke off then, her voice wavering uncharacteristically and glanced at Stark, who cleared his throat and continued.

"She was supposed to be a Bounty Hunter. In other words, Frosty, if you or any of the other Super-friends went rogue out in the field, she would be dispatched to either apprehend or destroy you. But there was a 'catastrophic failure' with the experiment."

"Failure?" Bucky spat, fists clenched, muscles tense as a bow string, his emotions already a twisted mess; _someone else was put through the same shit as him?_

"Nika was dropped into cryofreeze after two years, when she was twenty. They didn't need her for a mission but after a while, they brought her back for tests; to see how the training was holding and discovered that the freeze had malfunctioned, they'd missed a crucial step... and she'd been _conscious_ the entire time."

Bucky sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening in horror. All eyes swivelled to him, brows raised in question. Hiding his trembling hands in his lap, Bucky spoke. "I was punished once, and purposefully left conscious for a time in cryofreeze. Nothing I've experienced before or since compares. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy."

"For how long?" Steve asked, heartbreak and rage warring in his eyes.

"Six days."

All eyes turned back to Nat, flicking between her and Stark.

"How long for your sister?"

Nat swallowed hard. "Four years, give or take a few weeks."

Stunned silence followed her answer. Bucky looked like he would be physically sick, while Steve wiped angrily at a sudden tear. "What then?" He demanded.

Stark answered, Nat had fallen silent, her hair a curtain in front of her face. "They didn't know what the hell to do, so they put her back on ice, _properly_ this time and executed the dumb fucks that cocked-up the first time. They tried a few times to reverse the, as the report puts it, ' _unexpected side-effects'_ but they always ending up freezing her again when nothing worked."

"Where is she?" Wanda spoke finally, her voice a whisper, her accent thick with emotion.

"That's the part FRIDAY's still working on, it shouldn't be too much longer before she cracks it."

"We're going to rescue her, right?" Steve stated.

Stark looked to Natasha, who lifted her head reluctantly. "Yes. I can't stand to think of her locked away alone anymore."

"But, can we help her?" Bucky asked hesitantly; he knew firsthand the struggle Nat's sister would be in for if they released her from cryofreeze; the nightmares and crawling sensations, the overwhelming darkness and pain.

Bucky and Tony were working to bury the hatchet, with Steve usually the mediator between them, and they were trying to coexist peacefully; Tony had allowed Bucky to move into the Tower, and join the Avengers, but occasionally Tony couldn't help but disturb the settling dirt. "Well, we got you to stop playing Grim Reaper."

A blush of mixed humiliation and rage coloured Bucky's cheeks and Steve reached over, resting a hand on his tensed forearm.

"How?" The Captain was here, questions crisp and professional.

"I've already called Banner, he should be here within the next few days. Once we learn where she is, we bring her back, keep her in that secure holding cell in the basement... maybe Frosty can talk to her, misery loves company."

It was on the tip of Bucky's tongue to tell Stark to fuck off, but Steve gave him another warning squeeze and he remained silent. He had no idea how to help this girl, there were days when he could hardly help himself, hardly drag his own ass out of bed.

"She'll need intensive therapy," Steve ploughed ahead. He turned to Bucky. "The same woman you see, and a safe place here, her own room."

"Not until we're sure she isn't going to go postal and murder us in our sleep." Stark quipped, his natural sarcasm tempered by the pain in his eyes. He cleared his throat, "I'll set it all up, just keep yourselves ready to ship out, I don't think Widow here's going to hold the ride for any stragglers." Grabbing his phone he started stabbing at it, attention immediately focussed elsewhere, effectively ending the conversation.

Bucky stood and moved to the door, skin crawling, suddenly desperate to get out of this suffocating room. He turned his head to see if Steve was following and paused. Steve had moved to Nat's side and was speaking lowly to her, her head nodding occasionally in response. Palm sweating he turned and left, deciding to pace the hallway instead. Clint and Wanda wandered out behind him, seemingly still speechless and drifted away, trading waning smiles with him. Stark marched out next, not even noticing Bucky, phone to his ear, yapping and disappeared around the corner. Finally Steve left, arm around Nat's shoulders. He murmured quietly to her once more, words Bucky focussed on _not_ hearing out of respect for the redhead and watched as she wandered in the same direction as Stark.

The utter _desolation_ on Nat's face worried Bucky, she was never like this, never so... beaten. Steve moved beside him, picking up instantly on Bucky's thoughts.

"I'm worried about her too," he murmured, then rolled his shoulders, clearing his throat. "I have to hit something, want to train?"

Bucky nodded absently, eyes still trained on the corner.

A number of things happened in rapid succession. Bucky's nightmares returned, full force, robbing him of even the semblance of restful sleep; Banner arrived, his usual self and sequestered himself in the medical labs, prepping for any scenario he could think of regarding the shape they were going to find Nat's sister in; and FRIDAY finally cracked the encryption of the remaining files.

Bucky was just breathing through a fresh rush of panic, shadowy memories screeching hellfire in his ears when the AI startled him out of his thoughts. Exhaling shakily he leaned back from where he'd been curled on the end of his bed and forced himself to listen to the voice.

"Sergeant Barnes, I detect an accelerated heartbeat and rapid respirations, are you alright?"

"Fine, FRIDAY."

The AI paused. "You don't sound fine-"

"I'll _be_ fine. What's happening?"

"I have unlocked the location of Miss Romanoff, Mr. Stark requests everyone's immediate presence in the briefing room."

Bucky was too grateful for the distraction from his own tortured memories to acknowledge the fact that by agreeing to help extract Nat's sister, he would most likely be flinging himself from the frying pan to the fire, and diving headfirst into HYDRA and it's hellish business once again, but thoughts of what Nika had experienced weighed too heavily on him to push away. He couldn't even fathom what she had lived through, the utter misery that had become her whole existence. HYDRA was not concerned with healing, and no doubt all of their attempts to 'help' Nika had failed spectacularly, focussing on repairing the weapon instead of the person beneath. He still had no idea what he could possibly do to assuage her suffering, beyond listen and show her that, with time and help, you could eventually begin to claw through the blackness and discern light around you.

Nat was pacing just as manically as before, radiating tension and threw a dirty look at Bucky when he stumbled inside. He glanced around, blushing slightly to see that he was the last to arrive.

"Ah, Snowman's here; we can get down to the nut-cutting." Tony chirped, earning a glower from the pacing Russian assassin. Ignoring her Tony started talking, pointing at various bits of the holographic map he conjured on the table in front of everyone. "Widow's sister... little Widow, is here." A part of a broken down structure lit up. "There's nothing there, minimal staff, minimal guards, bare essentials."

"It's like they're just waiting for her to die," Bucky mumbled, not realizing he'd spoken out loud until Steve thumped him upside the head with a _look._

Bucky blushed again. "Sorry, Nat."

"But it's true." Tony plunged ahead. Bucky's statement seemed to have taken the wind from Nat's sails and she finally collapsed in the empty chair beside Clint, curling her fingers gratefully around the hand he offered her. "It's been like this since their last attempt to reverse the damage, they can't or won't outright kill her, so they've just tucked her away, hoping she'll blink out on her own."

"Have they forgotten about her?" Steve wondered.

"HYDRA never forgets." Bucky growled.

Tony shook his head. "No, but she's about as far away from their attention as you can get. FRIDAY's running some scenarios now, it shouldn't take too long to have an extraction plan. Go get ready, do whatever it is you losers do before shipping out and meet us at the quinjets in 30."

Bucky needed a shower, his skin still slick from his earlier panic and he all but leapt from his chair, ignoring Steve as the man called his name.

The flight was quiet, an undercurrent of tension thick in the air. Bucky fiddled idly with his guns, fighting the mild hint of dread that threatened the seams at the corners of his mind. He was willingly marching into a HYDRA facility, willingly agreeing to help someone as broken, if not more so, than him. His metal arm whirred ceaselessly, his tension and nerves translating into muscle flexes and twitches, his left hand almost spastic in it's movement. He forced a deep breath, forced himself to calm down. Someone plunked down beside him.

"Doing alright?" Steve asked quietly.

Bucky glanced up, looked quickly away again. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but would go no further.

"You don't think you'll be able to help her." Steve read his brother like an open book.

Bucky held up his palms, one flesh, the other cold metal. "There's times I can't even help myself, Steve-"

Steve leaned close, his voice both soft Steve and dominant Captain. "You will help her, just by being there. You're the only other one here with even an inkling of what she's gone through. Haven't you just needed someone to _understand_?"

Bucky dropped his head, the jerk was right, as usual. Just the thought of someone nearby who comprehended, who shared the same terrors and shadowy flashes at the corners of their sanity would be a comfort; a reassurance that even though Fate had given you the ultimate Fuck You, the vengeful bitch had at least thrown you this meagre bone.

Steve stayed silent, seeing the answer in Bucky's stare, and leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

Far too soon, they arrived.

It was too quiet. Stark's scanners picked up minimal activity. The building, broken down in places, was hidden in the Siberian tundra until you followed and zeroed in on the sullen traces of life, the sporadic pings of computers, the oh so faint glow of heat through the sophisticated infrared sensors. To all but the most skilled and prepared of trackers, the ones holding the most advanced technologies and armed with a general idea already of where to look, the base was invisible. There was no evidence of movement, of troops coming or going.

It was the end of the line.

The few soldiers abandoned here to guard the silent, frozen error that HYDRA seemed to want to bury and never dig up again put up a surprising fight, having reverted to a Lord of the Flies-like primitiveness; an almost animal instinct to protect their den. Only the computers and technology HYDRA left behind that were all but able to run themselves kept the base from dissolving into chaos; gone was the military order, the regimented watches and checks, left in it's place was the desperation of desertion. Bucky wondered if the staff here had been left as a sort of punishment, as forsaken by their masters as the girl they were supposed to guard.

It was almost a mercy to end their lives.

The room where Nat's sister was kept was dark and cold, the only illumination the faint light from the cryotank itself. The computers maintaining her slumber were outdated and rickety, obvious cast-offs from earlier times; the mistake they held not worth newer technology. The men left here, the men now dead in the corridors had not been in this room for months, if the level of grime and icy build-up where any indication.

 _That's what they were waiting for,_ Bucky thought morosely as he scanned the hauntingly familiar machines. He didn't voice his thoughts, out of respect for a stunned-looking Black Widow, who circled the cryo-tank with faint, uncharacteristic tears in her eyes, gazing in shock at the form inside. _They were just waiting for the machines to fail, the computer to blink out, for the girl inside to drift away when there was nothing left to maintain her half-life._ Maybe, years from now HYDRA would have returned, observed with callous detachment the men turned animals, now dead, starved and glacial cold after even their desperate diet of _each other_ had dried up; the icy, lifeless body in the cryo-tank, frozen solid, left in eternal sleep. Maybe the fire and flames of their eradication charges as they destroyed any evidence of the horror left here would have finally gifted Nika with some warmth.

The computers balked at first, seemingly unwillingly to surrender the person inside, as if the machines had taken in the humanity the guards had shed and wanted to protect the girl when no one else would. But finally they relented and Nika was released, the team waiting, on the edge of a razor, to see what woke up.

She didn't.

Seated, heavily shackled, in case she regained consciousness swinging her super-serum enhanced fists, Nika remained silent, unresponsive, no reaction whatsoever to anything or anyone, not even Nat's voice or hesitant touch.

"Catatonic," Bruce muttered, sounding resigned. He turned away from her with a sigh. "I was worried about that, she's completely shut down."

"Will she wake up?" Nat whispered.

Bruce paused, turning back to regard the cadaverous form. Nika was rigid enough to remain seated, her head level; but her eyes were blank. They'd opened once she'd been fully revived from cryofreeze, but, save for the occasional slow blink, her eyelids curiously out of sync, she gave little additional indication that she was, in fact, conscious or alive. Her breathing was slow and maddeningly shallow, her skin was waxy and pale and even when Tony accidentally on purpose knocked over a locked black case against the wall of the chamber, inciting a cacophony of hollow thuds that made more than one Avenger jump and curse under their breath, she remained motionless, like she hadn't even heard the crash.

Bucky, standing behind the others, mostly successful at keeping his breathing level, at stopping the gentle ripples of panic from growing to huge, crashing waves through his brain, forced himself to focus on the girl, cataloguing her features in an attempt at distraction. Her hair was darker than Nat's, a rich auburn, almost mahogany shade. HYDRA could care less about aesthetics so, like Bucky's had been, hers was dishevelled and tangled, but hinted at gentle curls.

The dead expression notwithstanding, Bucky found himself transfixed by the vibrant violet shade of Nika's eyes. They matched the almost ethereal paleness of her skin, the almost sharp point of her chin, framed by impossibly long lashes that seemed to weigh her lids down slightly, keeping her eyes only half-open. A sharp pang went through his chest, startling him, as he focussed on her lips; pouty and chapped, and imagined capturing them with his own, feeling their softness and warmth. Shaking his head, anger building at his inappropriate thoughts, Bucky forced his concentration to return to more clinical aspects. Her body was toned and athletic; if she didn't seem to be spinning her mental gears in neutral, and instead decided to attack, she had the physique and strength to cause damage. She was taller than her sister, and if she'd been trained in the same techniques as Nat, then she would be a force to be reckoned with.

When his game of dominoes failed to illicit a response, Tony grunted irritably. "Let's go."

Bruce stepped closer to their silent companion. "Can you stand?"

Tony sighed uneasily when Nika remained inert. "It's like talking to a wall, just carry her."

The team fell into an uneasy formation around the doctor as he gingerly scooped Nika into his arms, bridal style. A ridiculous flash of heat shot through Bucky, one he belated recognized as possessiveness and he pushed it away with a sharp breath. _What the fuck? Get it together, soldier._

Steve, as if he'd heard Bucky chastise himself, or felt the wave of heat itself, glanced over at his friend, brow raised in question. Cap had been silent so far, observing and analyzing the situation and looked resigned. As he saw it, at best Nika had a long road to recovery ahead of her; at worst, they'd just rescued a vegetable, and either way, his friend, his brother, was hooked.

Nat sat beside her sister, speaking quietly, earnestly in Russian to her. Bucky could understand every word, but tried not to listen, only the occasional word breaking through.

' _-told you'd died-'_

' _-forgive me, sister, I-'_

' _-will help you any-'_

' _-please, just say something.'_

Nat fell silent, studying Nika's face. The young woman gave no indication that she was even aware that she was no longer frozen, that she was currently rocketing through the sky in a jet, bound for the other side of the world. Bruce hovered by, monitoring her vitals, making notes and pawing through his supplies for want of distraction, seeming to become more distressed by the minute by his patient's continued unresponsiveness. He'd hooked her to a monitor and Bucky found his eyes drifted to the screen regularly.

Respiration, ten breaths a minute; heartbeat, thirty-seven; she was either hibernating or amazingly conditioned.

Bruce seemed worried about her low body temperature, and tucked another blanket around the young woman's shoulders, studying the readout critically. Bucky followed his gaze. Eighty-seven point two degrees, hypothermic, bordering on critical.

"How's she doing?" Steve called from the cockpit, co-piloting beside Tony.

"Same." Bruce called back, looking dejected.

Tony muttered something Bucky didn't catch, but Steve retorted sharply back, so it hadn't been good.

Clint stood from his seat and moved to stand in front of Nat. He held out his hand and she glanced reluctantly towards Nika before accepting it, allowing Clint to pull her to her feet and draw her back to his seat. Curling onto his lap she tucked her head under his chin with a ragged sigh and closed her eyes.

Bucky sensed the explosion a split second before it happened.

In the half-second before Nika detonated Bucky saw her jolt, awareness crashing into her eyes. He'd wondered briefly before if she was playing them, feigning insensibility, but he could see now that that simply wasn't the case. She'd gone from completely gone to completely _here_ in the blink of an eye, her consciousness slamming home and a thousand different sensations assaulting her, overwhelming her. And she reacted the way she'd been trained to, silently and instantly.

In a blur of contortion, she smashed the cable binding her wrists against the one between her ankles and they gave with a _ping,_ then she was on her feet, her movement too fast to follow. Bruce staggered away, blood blooming on his face, half-conscious. Natasha reacted almost as quickly as her sister, but flew backwards with a pained grunt, slamming into Clint and both landing on top of Wanda.

Then she turned to Bucky and he felt a thrill of almost-fear. Is this what his quarry had seen before he'd ended their lives? A cold _machine,_ devoid of emotion; _death incarnate_? There was no doubt that Nika would tear the jet apart to escape, Nat was still tangled up with Clint and Wanda, all three knocked half-insensible and Bucky could hear Steve scrambling from the cockpit, his shield up, but it was too late. With a chilly lack of expression, Nika zeroed in on Bucky and attacked.

There was only way to stop her, had been the only way to stop the Winter Soldier a time or two, but this knowledge didn't help ease Bucky's guilt as he drove his metal elbow into Nika's temple, sacrificing his body for a rib-breaking punch that stole his breath, made him stagger on weakened feet as she fell bonelessly to the floor of the jet beside him. Her eyes remained half-opened, but the consciousness behind them was gone again, while thick blood began to pool beneath her face, streaming from her nostrils and temple.

Strong arms grabbed Bucky, almost pulling away at his hiss of pain before settling gently around him. He let them guide him to the nearest bench, where he collapsed with a groan, looking up into Steve's concerned face.

"Jesus," he managed.

"Jesus," Bucky agreed weakly.

With uncharacteristic clumsiness, Nat managed to untangle herself from Clint and Wanda and dropped to her knees beside her unconscious sister.

"I'm sorry, Nat." Bucky mumbled, wincing at the twinge in his ribs. Steve was cautiously poking at his side and frowning, narrowing down the damage, ignoring Bucky's muttered curses.

"You had to," Nat replied almost curtly. "She wasn't going to stop." She smoothed Nika's hair back from her pale forehead, glancing up as Bruce dropped beside her and began to prod carefully at her bleeding skull.

"Damn Buck, how hard did you hit her?" He grumbled as his poking revealed a three-inch gash in her scalp. "Clint, grab me that tray over there and a shit pile of gauze." Within moments he had Nika's head almost completely obscured with white bandages and, after feeling at her neck gingerly to check for any breaks, lifted her up onto a free bench.

"He okay?" He asked Steve, motioning with his chin towards Bucky.

"Think so; broken rib, maybe two?"

"Wrap it. And you," his eyes locked with Bucky's. "Don't move too much for awhile, you don't want a punctured lung. Wanda, come hold this light? I'm going to suture her scalp before she bleeds the hell out."

"Make sure she's restrained!" Tony bellowed from the cockpit. "Christ Almighty, don't let that shitstorm loose again!"

Grimly, Steve stood, retrieving a second set of cuffs as well as a thick chain. Within moments, Nika was again restrained, the cuffs now looped with the chain and secured to the quinjet's floor.

"I don't think she's waking up anytime soon," Bruce mumbled, almost inaudibly as he continued, pulling the thread methodically through Nika's bleeding scalp.

And Bruce was right.

Nika lay unconscious for three days, unresponsive, and Bruce was seriously worried, especially because Nika didn't react in anyway to standard painful-stimuli tests.

"What does that mean?" Steve asked, rubbing his jaw. Bruce had called the entire team down to the medical lab and they stood on the other side of a wall of security glass, looking in on the motionless girl, locked in her own secure treatment room. Nat held Clint's hand tightly, while Bucky stood in a far corner, arms wrapped around himself, guilt gnawing incessantly at him.

"Normally it means a loss of cerebral function, perhaps even brain death; but this isn't an average brain. HYDRA's meddling has created something I'm not sure how to approach, she spent four years _conscious_ under cryofreeze, I _know_ there's places in her mind she can go that all these sensors and equipment can't follow." He gestured vaguely to the science fiction novel assortment of machines and computers the lab was equipped with. More state of the art than the most advanced hospital, filled with technology mere mortals hadn't even dreamed of yet, Tony's lab was rivalled only by the most sinister HYDRA bases. "Just because I'm not picking anything up on any of these readouts, and she's not responding to the most basest animal reflex, pain, doesn't mean she's lost, but I'll be honest, I have no idea how to find her."

"She's been conditioned to ignore pain," Bucky murmured, drawing the group's attention. They waited for him to continue and he cleared his throat, cheeks warming. "She won't respond to pain because she's been trained not to... she's probably felt so much that it doesn't even mean anything anymore, it's just a miserable fact of existence."

Bucky didn't miss the muscle jump in Steve's jaw, but he looked away before the inevitable sympathy darkened everyone's eyes. He was stating facts, gained from hard lessons, not looking for pity. Bruce closed his eyes, lips compressed into a thin line, he'd hoped this wasn't the case, but Bucky, out of everyone, would know.

"So how do we reach her?" Nat asked softly.

How the hell Bucky had become the expert in all this, he didn't know. "You don't. You have to wait for her to come back." He broke off with a sigh, fighting the tremor in his voice as he continued. "I'll help her anyway I can once she's awake, but I don't know what I can really do."

The group fell silent, eyes dropping to their feet, the floor, anywhere but Bucky or the body behind them.

Bucky slumped against the wall, used his forearm to wipe the sweat streaming down his face and panted for breath; beside him Steve was in the same boat. They'd pushed hard today on their run, Bucky trying to quiet his mind and thoughts, Steve not willing to leave him alone.

"Nightmares?" Steve rasped, hands on his knees, head bowed.

"Since we first heard about her." Bucky grunted, not needing to say who 'her' was.

Steve nodded, dropping to a crouch and, after a few beats, raised his head, scanning the surroundings, the outside of the Avengers Tower, before looking again at his friend. "You need to step back? We'll understand if you can't be part of this."

Bucky shook his head. "The nightmares will come whether I'm involved or not... maybe, when... if she wakes up, helping her work through her shit will help with mine." He didn't sound convinced and Steve opened his mouth to reply but the shrill squawking of Bucky's cell stopped him. With a held breath, he pulled it from his shorts pocket and glanced at the screen then exhaled heavily as he looked away.

Steve was about to ask what it was when his own phone started to go apeshit as well and he scrambled to silence it, half-amused and half-exasperated; sometime this morning someone, probably Sam, had changed his notification tone to an uber-annoying farting sound, but even the ridiculousness of his phone couldn't penetrate the sombre bubble surrounding Bucky and, as he read the message flashing on his screen, Steve understood why. Two simple words.

She's awake.

Nika paced restlessly, like a caged animal, from one end of her secure cell to another. She was pure coiled energy, bursting at the seams, her eyes flicking all over, searching restlessly for an escape. Bruce looked up as Bucky and Steve entered, tapping at a tablet in his hands, while Tony, Clint, Wanda, Sam and Nat just watched the girl.

She was almost hypnotizing, the maximum movement for the minimum energy; she looked ready to explode into action, the second she found a chink she would exploit it, be suddenly halfway down the corridor before you even realized that she'd attacked whoever entered her cell, knocked them out and jetted past you like a blur. The two men joined the group, eyes following the pacing form.

Nat pressed the microphone. "Dominika?"

The girl froze instantly, eyes and ears tracking and locating the speaker in a heartbeat. Her gaze now locked on the glass wall, her eyes unnervingly seeming to lock on the group watching her. She remained silent.

" _Dominika, it is me, Natasha."_ Nat spoke in Russian.

Darkness flickered over Nika's face but she didn't reply.

" _Nika, please talk to me. It's your sister."_

" _I have no sister."_ Her voice was cold, raspy and unused.


	2. Chapter 2

Nat flinched but only Bucky understood what she'd said. The others looked at Nat with confused concern, eyes flicking between the two Russians, then to Bucky, eyebrows raised.

"Nat told her who she was and she said she has no sister." Bucky supplied.

Steve frowned. "So... she doesn't remember you or-"

Nika suddenly threw herself at the glass, slamming bodily into it and making the collective group of superheroes jump like girls. She'd unnervingly hit exactly in front of Nat, and her eyes seemed to be locked directly on her older sister.

" _I have no sister because she is a traitorous snake! She was jealous and sold me into misery and pain!"_ The venom behind her spat words was palpable, her fists clenched at her sides, chest heaving. Her violet eyes glowed with hatred, like trapped fire. Nat stared in shock and the group again looked to the former Winter Soldier for a translation.

"She uh... she thinks Nat betrayed her, sold her to the experiment, into pain."

"No," Nat's voice wavered only slightly before she cleared her throat and stood up straight. "No, that's not true, they told me she died." She turned towards her sister and hit the button again. " _No, sister. They tricked us, they told me you'd died, they showed me your body-"_

" _LIES!"_

The group flinched again as Nika flung herself a second time at the glass, it shook worryingly in its frame, spurring Tony to ask.

"FRIDAY, will the glass hold?"

"Yes Mr. Stark, but she will hurt herself if she continues."

As if conjured by the AI's words, blood trickled down Nika's top lip and her tongue darted out, licking it. She bared her teeth, now dark with her own blood, into a wolf smile and Bucky began to wonder if she was simply, 100% insane.

" _You think a group corrupt enough to do this to you would tell you the truth about how they acquired you? They lied to us both, they told me you died! Of course they would say I'd sold you, to turn you against me! You are my sister Dominika, and I loved you! I still do!"_

Something flickered in Nika's eyes. _"Prove it. Let me out."_

Bucky tensed, looking to Nat with concern. The group was lost, eyes moving from sister to sister to Bucky like they were following a tennis match.

"She said, that if Nat still loves her, to prove it and let her out."

"Oh, no!" Tony barked, shaking his head and moving to stand in front of the cell's control panel. "Buy her a card or something, but you're not letting that thing out!"

Nat turned tortured eyes to Bucky and he shook his head. This was so far away from Nat's normal confidence he was becoming worried for the assassin, she would never have considered such a request from anyone else being detained here. "Nat, this isn't your sister right now. If we let her out, we're letting out a trained, remorseless killer with an axe to grind."

Nat nodded, rubbing her forehead. "I know! But she's my sister and she's right, I failed her-"

The entire group clamoured then, voices overlapping until Steve stuck two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. "No." The Captain's voice was firm, undeniable. "You did not fail her, you did not put her there and we are not releasing her in this state."

Clint leaned down and murmured in Nat's ear. She shivered slightly, clarity returning to her eyes. "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm not thinking clearly where she's concerned."

Sympathy shadowed Steve's face, not so long ago it was him, torn between the painful reality of the situation and his memories of Bucky, desperately clinging to the hope that his best friend and brother was still there somewhere, buried deep inside the brainwashed Winter Soldier. He'd been right, but was this the case with Nika too?

Sam made a frustrated sound, gestured towards the glass. "She knows we're here, why bother hiding? Change it."

With a sigh Tony reached over and flipped a switch, changing the glass from one-way to see-through. A small smile twitched at Nika's lips as she ruthlessly and efficiently evaluated the entire group, patted them down for weapons and measured their weight, to the nearest tenth of an ounce. They shifted uncomfortably, feeling vaguely violated as Nika straightened to her full height, crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the group coldly. After a beat she decided to focus on Bucky, and her eyebrow raised in a silent challenge.

" _Do you know who I am?"_ Bucky asked tonelessly.

Nika was silent for so long Bucky began to wonder if she'd even heard him then she replied, her voice sounding so much like his when he said 'Ready to Comply' that he couldn't stop a shiver.

" _You are the Asset. You are my mission."_

Nat turned to glance at Bucky and they shared a pained look.

"Has she slept yet?" Bucky asked wearily, eyeing the slumped form.

Bruce shook his head.

"How long has she been awake?"

"Seventy-one hours, thirty-four minutes." Bruce answered instantly, indicating he'd thought of little else recently. He sighed, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "I think she's afraid."

Nika sat slumped on the floor, her back to the wall, knees drawn up to her chest. She'd gradually withered from the frightening and raging assassin who'd thrown herself at the glass to this, sluggish and lethargic, winding down like a toy running out of battery. For a short time Bucky had dismissed her refusal to sleep as paranoia, her not trusting her captors to not assail while she was incapacitated, but now he thought differently. The haunted dread in her eyes said she knew all too well what waited for her when she finally closed her eyes.

"She's afraid to fall asleep and wake up in the dark again, alone and locked in cryofreeze."

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. "Silence too? She seemed to settle a bit when I started piping some music in."

"Most likely." Bucky felt a fresh wave of pity, coupled with new guilt. He'd been so caught up in his own nightmares, his own fresh hell to contemplate this, it was obvious now that he thought of it. Shit, they'd pulled Nika from one hell and plunged her straight into another. He was dragged from his thoughts as he saw Nika slump sideways from the corner of his eye. Finally unconscious and completely exhausted, her body had taken over, shutting her mind down; she lay crumpled in a way that would be next to impossible were she not entirely insensible, and would be in a great deal of pain when she finally woke up.

"I have to move her," Bucky muttered, moving to the door. Bruce hesitated only briefly before reaching over to the control panel and unlocking it. Cautiously Bucky entered, alert for any movement, any sign that this was some elaborate trick, and in fact Nika was risking a broken neck in this position in order to lure someone close to her. Gently, he nudged her leg with his boot, then harder, but received no response. Taking a deep breath he crouched down and gathered her into his arms, cushioned her against his chest as he stood. She was entirely boneless as Bucky gently lay her onto her bunk, gave no reaction whatsoever when he adjusted her motionless limbs and pulled the thin blanket to cover her then, without even realizing it, Bucky found himself gently stroking her pale cheek with the back of his flesh index finger, pulling away in surprise when he recognized the movement and it's startling incongruity.

Clearing his throat he turned away and, if Bruce notice the tender touch, he made no comment. Shutting the door behind Bucky, he relocked it at the control panel and moved to stand beside him, gazing into the cell.

"She's going to need a lot of help," Bruce murmured. He glanced over at Bucky, "I don't know if we'll be enough."

Bucky chewed at his bottom lip. He'd already contemplated this and was fairly certain of the outcome. "I'll contact Shuri, see if she can maybe try."

Bruce sighed, digging his toe into the floor. "That will remove HYDRA's indoctrination, but it won't help with the devastation from four years of forced isolation. The mind is a mysterious place Buck, you know as well as any of us; there's no telling what damage was done; my bet is it'll be years before we get to the bottom of it, before she's able to feel completely normal."

"What's normal?" Bucky retorted. "You lose your temper and turn green, I've got a metal arm and just turned a hundred years old, Thor's the God of freaking Thunder; none of us are normal."

Bruce grimaced, "touché."

Fifty-two hours.

Nika didn't move, didn't wake for almost two and a half days. The rest of the compound ground on, most of the team was called out on a mission and reluctantly, Nat joined them. It was no use for her to stay in the tower and pace, waiting for word on her sister's condition and besides, Bucky was doing enough of that for everyone. Despite himself and his reservations, he was becoming far more invested in Nika's recovery then was probably safe or smart to.

Bucky was alone in the medical lab when Nika finally began to stir. He'd volunteered to hang around while Bruce ran some errands, probably caught a nap too and had been contemplating which chair looked the comfiest for his own crash when his enhanced hearing picked up the soft sounds of movement from the cell. He froze, struck with a sudden case of nerves. Beyond that thin sheet of reinforced glass was a woman who's sole purpose had been to track and kill him if he'd become a problem to his handlers, if he'd gone rogue in the field. She'd no doubt been trained and implanted with every morsel of information deemed necessary regarding him, his strengths and weaknesses, his history, ways to bring him down; and the cold way she'd answered him earlier, her voice devoid of emotion, coldly beautiful with it's Russian tones, ' _you are the Asset. You are my mission.'_ didn't bode well for any type of compromise or harmony between them; perhaps he should stay hidden until Bruce came back-

" _Hello? Is somebody out there?"_ Her voice held none if it's early menace, no trace of it's previous calculation. It wavered now, only slightly, but enough for Bucky to pick out. This was the voice of a frightened, disoriented young woman; awakened in a strange room alone, no doubt with a tangle of conflicting memories and thoughts, her brain a confused jumble, like strands of hair twisted together, some snapping under the strain, some coiling into tighter knots, furthering her chaotic state of mind.

" _Please?"_

It was the please that broke his resolve, the plea for someone, anyone to help and Bucky took a deep breath before stepping in front of the cell.

Nika startled, eye's red-rimmed, skin pale and stumbled back a step in what was probably a rare show of clumsiness. _"Oh,"_ she gasped. Her eyes darted right and left before resting unwillingly back on him. _"Wh... where am I?"_ She might not be able to say right now who the man in front of her was, but her instincts were screaming at her that he was danger, the enemy; her tangled thoughts desperately trying to piece everything back together.

" _In Washington."_ Bucky replied neutrally.

" _America?"_

" _Yes, Washington DC, in the Avengers Tower."_

Another flash of fear shot through her eyes, that side of her that had thrown itself against the glass, smiled with her own blood on her teeth and tore pieces from Nat's heart was gone; like Bucky, she had two sides, the HYDRA grown killer, and the scared, lost victim beneath. Her exhausted crash must have allowed her real self through, locked her assassin away for now, but what would trigger it's release again? Until he'd been healed by Shuri, it had taken ten words to bring the Winter Soldier forth, but Nika was a different experiment, and a failed one at that, what would trigger her?

Grasping at straws, Bucky blurted the first thing to come to his mind. _"Are you hungry?"_

Bewilderment clouded her eyes, in her experience, prisoners weren't offered food, their needs not something their captors concerned themselves with. _Was this a trick?_ Bucky read her thoughts, his heart breaking just a little bit more; HYDRA had made her suffer just as much as him, if not more.

" _No tricks, for real. Are you hungry, do you want something to eat?"_ It was easier for Bucky to address the physical issues, something he could immediately help, than to even try looking at the rat's nest that was her mind, her connection to him, what the hell they were going to do with her.

She mumbled, something so low not even Bucky could catch it, not that he would have anyway, with the way his heart was hammering in his chest.

" _Sorry?"_

" _Yes, I am."_ "Her voice was still low, the undercurrent of fear heavy and Bucky was suddenly struck with the realization of the courage this statement had taken. This woman had just woken up in an unknown place, was faced with the man she'd been trained to simultaneously hate and fear and was locked in a cell, at the mercy of her captors, of the Winter Soldier himself. Yet she was answering him, not shutting down; had Nat's words managed to infiltrate her damaged mind?

" _Sure!"_ Bucky all but yelped, ridiculously encouraged by her tentative extension of trust. _"I mean what, what can I bring you?"_

Nika shrugged, her eyes meeting his for the briefest instant, like a dog expecting a beating, wincing away from the upcoming blow but accepting their fate.

His mind raced, he'd only be able to stomach bland, regular food at the beginning, basic dishes. Now was not the time to reheat Sam's spicy buffalo wings from last night. He found himself grinning, bit his lip to rein it in _. "I'll be right back, okay?"_

She nodded slowly, eyes moving to scan the rest of her cell and Bucky stepped closer to the glass, making her step back. He winced at the thought of adding to her fears and softened his voice as much as he could, pointed to the back of her cell. _"There's a button there, on the wall. Hit it and the glass walls around the shower and toilet will go cloudy and give you some privacy."_ He craned his head, looking to the secured door of the cell. While Nika'd been out, Nat had brought her a change of clothes, a small bag of toiletries. _"Nat left you that, clean clothes and stuff; there's a towel there too."_

Surprise flashed in her eyes. Again, kindness in any form was a foreign concept. She managed a nod and Bucky turned, all but running from the room to find her something to eat.

The shower was still running when he returned and he set the tray down on the near table to wait, hands twisting nervously. His enhanced vision made it so the glass surrounding the shower wasn't nearly as cloudy as it would look to the average person and he fought to keep his gaze from drifting that way; but it was a losing battle. His eyes were drawn towards her sinuous form, moving slowly behind the glass. Despite her distress, her confusion, she was nonetheless beauty personified, her every movement the definition of grace. Bucky felt a rush of mortification when his cock stirred to life in his pants, and he turned away with a strangled gasp of mingled shame and desire. Although his body had been slowly waking up since he'd begun to shed the Winter Soldier, he'd yet to act on it with anything more than his own hand. Being intimate with someone was a step he wasn't sure he'd ever be ready for, to make yourself vulnerable like that, to trust the other so implicitly while you shared something so profound with them; Bucky was sure he'd never be ready for something like that... until now. Now his body seemed to have other ideas, and it certainly wasn't the goddamn time.

Nika, although her movements looked like poetry, nonetheless felt clumsy, unwieldy. Her body remembered the basics, how to walk, talk, take care of base needs, and even how to stand under a spray of water nude and scrub itself clean, but her thoughts were running rampant, loose and in whichever damn direction they felt like. _She was in America? And more importantly, with her sister? The woman she'd been told had betrayed her?_ For so long she'd held that ember of hatred tightly in her fist, letting it keep her warm when everything else was so damn cold and black; but had it ever been true? The look on Nat's face, the broken sound in her voice, was it all the act of a master spy? Or had HYDRA simply played more games, twisted more stories and threads, feeding lies to both sides?

Nika's mind was still to horrified, too knocked-back-on-it's-haunches in shock to fully delve into this, but a persistent certainty coiled nonetheless around the very lizard part of her brain, she had been a pawn, a piece of a game, and the man she'd been trained to track and kill was instead looking like a source of help.

Turning off the shower she reached for the towel, shuddering slightly at the feel of it against her skin. It wasn't the sandpaper-rough she was used to, stiff and unwelcoming, meant to remind you with every pat and stroke that you were a prisoner, a hostage to the whims of power-hungry men who saw you as a commodity, an experiment, an animal. The clothes too, although plain, were soft and well-made; a pair of sweatpants, a sleeveless t-shirt and hoodie, meant to hug and embrace. Swallowing hard she quickly dressed, unable to stop from running her finger along the soft ribbon edge of the underwear Nat had provided, the matching trim on the simple bra. She ignored the socks, liking the feeling of her bare feet on the floor, the faint stirring of freedom it brought her. She gathered up her old clothes, took a deep breath before stepping out past the privacy glass.

The man was back, the one the looked so familiar, that stirred such a myriad of feelings in her; rage and uncertainty, hatred and... safety? He smiled tentatively at her, as if he was nervous too and reached for a tray, stepping closer to the glass to show her.

" _I uh... I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I brought a couple of different things. Some oatmeal, a few pieces of toast... some fruit?"_ There was such a contrast between the man's voice and his size, the muscles straining his red shirt and faded jeans. His jaw could cut glass, but his voice could soften even the hardest words.

Nika stood silent, uncertain, her clothes still piled in her arms. She chanced another nervous glance at him and he pointed with his chin. _"You can uh... just put those in the corner, I'll get them to the laundry-"_

" _I don't want them."_ Her words surprised her and she gulped. _She didn't want them? Why?_

 _Because they remind you of the pain, the blackness, the cold._

The man nodded, seeming to understand and, after a pause, she hesitantly dropped them in the corner, springing back as if they were about to leap and bite at her. She jumped again when she heard the door unbolt, staring with horror as the man slowly stepped inside.

" _It's okay,"_ he said, his voice low. _"I can leave if you want."_ He set the tray down at a neutral distance then stepped back, waiting for an answer, but Nika had none to give, she didn't know what the hell she wanted right now; part of her was frightened of him, of other people in general (they only brought you pain and suffering), but another part of her was terrified to be left alone again, she'd spent so much time alone.

Her hunger pangs brought her out of her tangled thoughts and she pulled the tray tentatively towards herself, sitting cross-legged on the floor and poking cautiously at the bowl, _what was it again?_ oh yeah, oatmeal. She didn't have an answer for the man, so she didn't reply, glancing at him warily to see what he would do.

After a moment, he mirrored her, sitting cross-legged a careful distance away. Nika brought the spoon slowly to her lips and tasted it, pulling away with a grimace. The texture made her gag, reminded her of the way the gag they'd force into her mouth to muffle her screams as they'd 'treated her' would press on her tongue, choke off her air. She barely managed to set the bowl back down without it falling from her hands. The man made to move towards her, but her flinch convinced him to stay. Hating the way her hands were shaking she picked up the plate next, _toast._

" _Here,"_ the man started to move again, then remembered and sat back down, smiling nervously. He pointed instead. _"There's some jam, it's already buttered."_

The red jam looked too much like gore, so she nibbled hesitantly at the plain slice instead, swallowed with only a little difficulty around the lump in her throat.

" _We're going to help you,"_ the man murmured. _"I... I understand what you're going through and I know it looks overwhelming now-"_

Something about his words, maybe not his words at all, but just her own fragile state of mind suddenly gave and Nika found herself retorting, not even knowing what she was about to say, her voice rising with each word. _"No. Don't you get it? I'm a mistake! I just a fucked-up waste of resources, just like they said! I deserve to die! I don't deserve to be helped because I'm just a MISTAKE!"_ Without conscious intent, under control of some dark part of her mind that HYDRA had fostered and tended and ultimately fucked up Nika snaked her hand out suddenly, grabbing the butter knife Bucky had included with her toast.

" _Hey, wait-"_ Bucky started, voice rising in shock as the situation suddenly and spectacularly fell to absolute shit.

As if she was watching all of this the side, as if this was all just a movie, Nika saw herself swiftly snap her hand upwards, plunging the blunt, dull blade into her throat. Blood spurted, a red jet.

" _Stop!"_ Bucky all but shrieked, scrambling towards her, eyes huge and disbelieving. _What she really trying to cut her own throat?!_

Nika sawed to the side, crudely tearing the skin and soft tissue below. Her blood was a searing spray on her hand, making the knife hard to hold, and white-hot pain, pain she knew all too well and almost welcomed, clawed through her chest.

Bucky slammed into her, hands scrambling with hers to rip the knife away before she could cause more damage and Nika realized that she was screaming, her final word having morphed into howl as the knife broke her skin. His large hands, clumsy with shock and panic, fumbled with hers, slippery with her lifeblood.

" _Jesus, baby-"_ his eyes were wild as he struggled with her, the crazed part of Nika's mind that was currently running the show, coupled with the serum and Bucky's own horror made her thrashing almost too much for the soldier to handle and he whined in animal panic, low in his throat when she broke free from his grip and managed to tear another few centimetres.

 _Jesus, the blood!_

"What the fuck is going on?" A voice yelled and even in his panic and shock Bucky realized it was Steve, then hands were grabbing him and more people were screaming and someone was yanking him away from her.

He didn't remember the trip, but somehow Bucky ended up back in his room, pacing manically, hands tangling in the sweaty strands as he forced them through his hair again and again. Steve had pulled him from the room, the only one physically capable of it and had been dragging him down the hallway when Nat's voice shrieked for him.

"Steve! We need you!"

Clearly torn Steve growled, coming to a snap decision. Pushing Bucky roughly away, further down the hallway he pointed, his voice commanding, and if the situation hadn't been so goddamn serious his next words may have provoked some form of a smartass 'yes, dad' response.

"Go to your room, Buck and stay there until I come back!"

Some bastard form of autopilot took over and Bucky had stumbled to his room, cringing and wincing at the panicked shouts and crashing sounds behind him.

 _What the fuck had happened? What had he done, said to provoke her like that?_

The sharp rap at the door made him stumble uncharacteristically and although he wasn't ready to hear the news, he nonetheless swallowed hard and called out, his voice a sandpaper rasp.

"Yeah?"

The door opened and Steve marched inside, clearly agitated. He slammed the door behind him, lasering in on Bucky's face like a Patriot missile. For a long moment he just glared, chest heaving before all but spitting.

"What the hell did you say to her?"

"What? I -, all I said was-" with a groan Bucky broke off, forcing his hands through his hair again. "All I said was we were going to help her-"

His words were cut off by Steve's cell phone suddenly coming to shrieking life and FRIDAY's piercing announcement.

"Captain Rogers, you are needed in the medical labs immediately!"

"Shit!" Steve barked. Whirling, he all but ripped the door open and threw a dark look over his shoulder at Bucky, a look that said 'stay the fuck put' before disappearing again.

Bucky swayed on his feet, ready to break. He was seconds away from losing his grip and reverting into the old Bucky, the wreck that Steve had dragged bleeding and defeated from Siberia, the tired and broken man begging to be frozen again until he could be trusted, until Shuri had scrubbed HYDRA's training from his mind. He covered his face with his hands then froze, pulling them away to stare in newfound horror.

He hadn't noticed it until now.

His hands, wrists and forearms were coated in Nika's blood. Sticky in some places, dry in others, it coated both his flesh and metal skin, stained his shirt and, now that he was aware of the faint pull, dried in streaks across his face. He hadn't been bathed in blood like this for a long time, not since his handler had instructed him to 'make it last, make him scream for death' and he'd complied, the loyal soldier, the valuable asset, completing his latest mission with cold efficiency.

A roar of anguish clawed from his throat and he threw his head back, screaming until his voice broke and a sharp pain pierced through his vocal cords. Choking off he dropped to his knees, let his head fall forwards and into his shaking hands and wept.

Steve was much more subdued the second time. Bucky was still on the floor, having no energy or desire to lift himself up, not even really coming back to reality until the door opened and his friend, his brother, walked heavily inside, shutting the door behind him.

A hand nudged his shoulder. "Buck, get up."

Slowly, the good soldier, Bucky complied, meeting Steve's eyes and wishing immediately that he hadn't, stumbling to sit heavily on the end of his bed. Steve sighed, a long, exhausted sound and leaned against the wall. Finally, he rubbed a hand roughly over his mouth and grunted. "You gave her a knife, Buck. What the hell were you thinking?"

Realization hit Bucky hard in the gut and he was temporarily winded. What _had_ he been thinking? Short answer, he hadn't been, he'd been so desperately eager to help her, to ease some part of her pain that the thought of danger hadn't even crossed his consciousness, yet he'd given her the exact weapon she'd needed to tear into her tender throat. Shaking his head to banish the sudden gory memory he stuttered, "I... she was hungry, I didn't think-" his words sounded weak, even to him and he fell silent, staring at his blood-covered hands.

For a long moment, neither spoke, then Bucky forced himself to ask; his voice rough, damaged from his screams.

"Is she okay?"

"She's alive. Restrained."

"Restrained?" Faint coils of panic began to tug at him, insistent. "You can't, she won't-"

"She tried to kill herself Bucky. She sawed open her goddamn throat! If it wasn't for the serum she'd be dead! We put her in the suicide cell, the empty one but she tried again. Again, Bucky." His eyes met Bucky's steadily, and it was the brunette who looked away. "They called me back down to help because she'd started going after her wrists with her goddamn _teeth,_ it took all mystrength to pull her arms away, to stop her from fucking... _gnawing_ on herself. Jesus God, the look in her eyes-" he broke off, breathing hard and if Bucky had had anything in his stomach, he would have thrown it all back up; as it was, he found himself dry heaving, weakly spitting sharp bile and wiping his mouth with a grimace.

"The amount of sedation we'd need to overcome her metabolism isn't feasible, we had no choice." Steve sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "She's in a straightjacket until we figure out what the hell to do."

"I want to see her-"

"No fucking way."

"Steve, I-"

"NO!"

Bucky fell silent, staring down at his hands, still stained with blood, still accusing him.

"No." Steve sighed, his voice softening considerably. "We need to figure this out first, talk to Shuri, see what Bruce can do, besides," he managed a rueful grin. "I wouldn't go anywhere near Nat right now if I were you, not if you at all value your balls."

"I didn't-"

"I know, you didn't. Not purposefully at least, but you brought her a... a goddamn _knife_ and triggered her somehow and we can't have her losing it again, not like that, and you can't be around if you're not going to be able to think straight around her." He shuddered, looking away for a moment before focusing back on Bucky. "Go have a shower Buck, you're covered in blood. I'm going to go clean myself up and then I'll bring you some food and we can talk; hang-out, okay?"

Bucky nodded numbly, watching with dull eyes as Steve turned and left, pulling the door closed behind him.

Bucky took a deep, steadying breath before entering the briefing room. The rest of the team had already assembled, speaking in low voices that stuttered to silence when he arrived. Bucky was too tired to care. He'd hardly slept in the last four days, since Nika's violent breakdown. She'd settled, seemed to be getting better, but Bucky was even now absolutely banned from going anywhere near her cell; it hardly mattered, he had little drive to leave his room right now anyway. Every night, every time he closed his eyes, screams would wake him, jolt him from his uneasy rest, echoing through his mind. It had taken him a few times to realize that it wasn't his own screams waking him, but echoes of Nika's.

Bruce was wringing his hands, barely waiting for Bucky to collapse into the nearest chair before he blurted.

"We've got big problems."

Everyone but Nat and Steve frowned in confusion, glancing amongst each other.

"What is it?" Tony asked, his voice wary.

Bruce glanced up at Bucky before focussing back on his tablet. "We know that HYDRA instilled trigger words to activate the subject. Bucky needed to hear his trigger words read in a specific order for it to work, but we've discovered that isn't the case for Nika."

He paused as the team shifted in surprise, mumbling uneasily to each other.

"It's a side effect of the accident, according to the files. Nika was originally supposed to be set off by a specific list and order, just like Bucky, but it's not happening that way. Bucky was triggered in Russian, it doesn't seem to matter for Nika, English or Russian words, they both work; and the order doesn't matter either; she's communicating mainly in English now. Read out even two or three of her trigger words, in any order and in either language... and she turns. We tested this, against my wishes, but Nika was insistent and it wasn't anything I want to repeat."

"What are her words?" Tony asked.

Bruce exhaled. "Corporeal. Ravenous. Twilight. Pure. Evergreen. Forge. Deviate. Fracture. Sister. Sorrow." He dropped the tablet to the table and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Those words are common enough that the chance she could hear any of them just being around other people is high. It wouldn't be as bad if she was only triggered in Russian, or needed to hear all ten in order, but she doesn't; she hears just two or three of those and... " He didn't finish, rolling his shoulders instead as he shivered.

"So... she could just be walking down the street and overhear a few random conversations in a cafe or something, and that would be enough?" Sam asked.

Bruce closed his eyes as he nodded. "Yeah, and that's a chance we _cannot_ take. We need to find a way to remove the indoctrination."

Bucky swallowed hard, his heart pounding. "Shuri?"

"We've been trying, I was finally able to speak with her just a few minutes ago." Steve answered, his voice weary.

Bucky perked up, waiting to hear more. "And?"

"She's willing to try, on one condition." Steve hesitated, eyes locking on Bucky's. "You have to come too."

"To Wakanda? Why?"

"Her first question after I explained the situation was how you were dealing with it... and I was honest."

"I can't bring Nika to Shuri alone-"

"Exactly. And you're definitely not. I'm taking you." He glanced over at Nat, who sat bent forwards, her head in her hands as Clint rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Nat might be coming too... not sure yet. Either way, we're shipping out soon, Shuri is expecting us."

"How long will it take?" Sam asked, his manner uncharacteristically sombre.

All eyes swivelled to Bucky, as if he had all the answers and he stuttered before finding his voice. "Not ... not long for Shuri to untangle everything, remove HYDRA's shit, but who knows how long to get through the fallout? I'm still working on it."

Tony sighed, shooting a sympathetic glance at Nat. "We can deal with nightmares and phobias, but we can't handle homicidal rage. As long as Shuri can get that out of her head, we can bring her back and let her work through it amongst friends. But we'll leave it up to Nika, once she's thinking clearly, she can decide if she wants to stay in Wakanda or come back here. Based on what I've seen, once she gets straightened out, she'll be a damn asset to the team based on her physical abilities alone, a super serum enhanced super assassin; it's like Widow and Frosty had a baby."

"Ummm... ew." Nat managed, lifting her head and giving a shaky smile. A few weak chuckles answered her and that seemed enough to break the tension. Steve thumped the table with the flat of his hand, clearing his throat.

"Alright, we're flying out in thirty minutes. Bruce, you're bringing Nika down to the hanger?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. She'll be heavily shackled, as per her own request. Do you want me to accompany her?"

Steve pondered a moment before shaking his head. "I don't think it'll be necessary; as long as she's not triggered, she's actually a real sweetheart." He paused, a brief flash of sadness washing over his face. It never failed to torment him just how much evil HYDRA was capable of, despite seeing the result every time he looked at his best friend.

Bucky shifted uncomfortably in the co-pilot's seat. It wasn't necessary for him to be up here, Steve was a more than capable pilot and the quinjet was incredibly advanced, but it saved him from sitting in the back with Nika. As Bruce had led her up the ramp Bucky had had to bite back a sharp inhale of surprise.

 _Nika was upright, walking under her own power but was a ghost in every other way. The straitjacket bound her arms tightly around her and her hair was a tangled curtain over her bowed face; a large set of headphones hung around her neck. She let Bruce lead her silently to the bench and waited without comment as he secured her restraints, only lifting her head to insist on one more binding chain before he stepped back. Her eyes flicked briefly to Bucky as he watched her, and a multitude of emotions rocketed through her violet gaze, but she dropped her head again without a word. Her throat still bore the jagged scar of her brutal self-attack and her entire body seemed to tremble ever so slightly._

 _Bucky wanted to move to her side, sit close and draw her into his arms; the need to comfort her a maddening itch, but he was loathe to upset her further._

" _Will you be okay, Nika?" Steve asked softly, moving to stand beside Bucky._

 _Nika glanced at Bruce and nodded before answering. "Just don't come near me, no matter what I do. These chains will hold but I can't," she broke off and swallowed hard. "I can't guarantee I won't test them." She glanced at Bruce and he stepped forward, reaching for the headphones and placing them over her ears. Following the cord to a small iPod he pressed a button then looked back up at Nika. She nodded in response and Bruce stepped back, turning to address Bucky and Steve._

 _Bucky kept his eyes on Nika, watched as her eyes went faraway, pulling his attention from her reluctantly as Bruce began to speak._

" _We've figured out her major fears. They're rather obvious if you consider what she's been through. Keep the cabin lights on, she's afraid of the dark; keep the heat up, she can't stand cold, and above everything else, make sure there's some type of white noise all the time. Silence is her absolute undoing. The iPod is on continuous loop and she'll be okay to listen to it the entire flight. This is all included on those notes I gave you Steve, for god's sake don't deviate."_

 _A shudder of horror swept through Bucky; Nika had been conscious under cryofreeze for four years, trapped in absolute quiet, absolute nothingness for that entire time, of course silence would be her undoing. He swallowed, "what about when we reach Wakanda? She'll need to go into cryofreeze for Shuri to help her."_

 _Bruce nodded. "She's aware and resigned to that, she knows it's necessary to help." A wave of sudden sorrow passed over his face and he turned his head, gazing at Nika for a long beat before turning back and Bucky saw the devotion on his face; Bruce had taken Nika under his wing, looked on her like a little sister, and her pain was now his pain. Steve's clenched jaw said he was the same and, with a sharp nod of his head, he announced it was time to go._

 _Bruce knelt in front of Nika, mouthing '_ goodbye' _then stood and left and, not knowing what else to do, Bucky retreated to the cockpit._


	3. Chapter 3

Bucky leaned back with a sigh, smiling as the sun warmed his face, feeling the tension melt from his shoulders. The last few weeks had been exactly what he'd needed, the slow pace and harmony allowing him to eventually shrug off the heavy coat of guilt he'd been wearing. As soon as they'd landed in Wakanda Shuri had informed him that his hut was open and waiting for him, and he'd surprised himself by collapsing into the blankets and crashing, waking almost twenty-four hours later. He'd missed Nika being placed in cryofreeze again, but Steve had told him of her grim acceptance, the way her knuckles had been clenched white; the slow, shaky breaths she'd fought to draw and the brief, wobbly smile she'd managed when Steve had leaned forward, rested his hand tentatively on her shoulder and murmured that she would be alright.

Her indoctrination had been more insidious, more tangled throughout her brain than Bucky's had been, according to the Princess, and was most likely another unintentional side effect of the catastrophic error made during her first cryofreeze. She'd been released almost a week ago, but had kept herself scarce, from Bucky at least, sequestered in her own guest quarters or accompanying Steve or Shuri on small outings.

He'd seen her earlier today, from afar, standing for a moment and letting the rising sun wash over her before setting off, stepping with surprising confidence out in the landscape. Steve had been called away on a mission this morning, an unavoidable request that he'd fought before giving in under Shuri's promise to keep Nika safe. He'd not said it directly to Bucky, but his sharp eyes had warned the former Winter Soldier to keep his distance, something Bucky was resigned to anyway, regardless of how difficult it was.

Something had changed in Bucky since he'd first seen Nika entombed in Siberia; hell, since he'd first heard of her existence, discarded and abandoned by the same hellish masters he'd escaped from. He'd thought at first it was simply because of their common story, their mirrored chronicles, but he now knew it was much more. He wanted to see her, wanted to be near her, wanted to touch her and feel her nuzzled secure against his chest. He'd never truly felt this way before, not before the war and certainly not after but was hesitant to look too closely at it. Nika had a long road ahead of her, one that he was still stumbling down and, even if she decided to concentrate on more than simple recovery, and decided to try forging relationships and finding friends, why would she ever look his way? Her sole purpose, the sole reason HYDRA had brought her into the organization was to be a Bounty Hunter, _his_ Bounty Hunter, the one to track and kill him if he became a problem. They'd been divided from the start, natural enemies and while Bucky was not opposed to trying to bridge that initial gap, what did Nika want?

A twig snapping off to his right brought him instantly out his gloomy thoughts and he jerked his head to the side, not able to stop a surprised, lopsided grin. Nika stood a dozen feet away, testament to how stealthy she was capable of moving, to sneak up on a fellow enhanced human; and Bucky knew she'd snapped that twig on purpose to draw his attention before she got too close. For a long moment neither of them spoke; entranced by the other's gaze and it was Nika who broke the silence.

"May I join you?" She all but whispered and Bucky snapped out his trance.

"Uh... sure, yeah." Inwardly he cringed, mortified at his schoolboy nerves and took a deep breath as Nika noiselessly stepped closer. She was naturally graceful, a lethal ballerina and her body moved effortlessly while her mind hurtled chaotically; the turmoil visible in her stormy violet eyes. She was dressed plainly, in cargo pants and a tank top, her ever present hoodie tied around her waist. According to Steve, she was doing much better with her aversions to cold and dark but still carried her headphones everywhere, not yet able to handle silence.

As she sat a respectable distance away she began threading her fingers through her hair, pulling it back into a careless ponytail before staring at her wrist with consternation; at some point today the ever present elastic on her wrist for just such a use had fallen off and she was about to let her hair drop again when Bucky jolted into motion beside her.

"H-here." He offered meekly, pulling the tie off his own wrist and holding it out for her.

Nika hesitated, meeting his eyes briefly before dropping them and accepting the tie with a murmured thank you. Bucky wanted to look forwards again, but found himself spellbound for a second time as Nika smoothed her hair and deftly, with a natural ease that girls just seemed to be born with, wrapping the elastic around it before dropping her hands and wrapping them around her knees, drawn up to her chest. After a moment she lowered her chin, pressing her face to the tops of her knees.

Realizing he was openly gaping Bucky flushed and looked forwards, clearing his throat nervously as his flesh hand worried at a small hole in his pants.

"How... how are you feeling?" He stuttered, kicking himself for both the stupid question and his adolescent anxiety; Christ, he was a highly trained assassin, an Avenger, yet sitting within ten feet of Dominika Anastassia Levka Romanoff turned him into a blushing boy-child.

"Better," came her quiet reply, muffled by her knees. After a moment she lifted her head, resting her chin instead and gazed out over the scenery. "It's so beautiful here."

"Yeah," Bucky murmured, not entirely meaning the landscape.

Nika worried at her bottom lip for a moment, as if debating with herself whether to speak. Finally, with a sigh, she decided. "Do you still get nightmares?"

"Yes," Bucky whispered, staring down at his metal hand; after a moment he raised his eyes again, struck yet again by the almost ethereal colour of her gaze. He could become lost in those depths, and it almost physically hurt to look away.

"I've discovered that if I get up and just run, sprint until I'm tired it's easier to go back to sleep; of course, Shuri warned me to careful, I'm not the only predator out there-" she broke off, as if she'd said too much, fingers beginning to trail absently through the fine red dust on the ground beside her.

Bucky's hands squeezed into fists and he consciously forced them to relax. Nika sounded so sad and lost right now, and his instincts were screaming at him to move closer and draw her into his arms, thread his thick fingers through her feather-soft hair and murmur the promise he'd made to her in his heart the moment he'd seen her trapped and forgotten in Siberia. _I will always protect you, I will always be there for you._

But he couldn't, because he shouldn't. He was damaged goods, a killer only beginning to reform and Nika needed something, someone better. He could never make amends for the pain and anguish he'd caused as the Winter Soldier and, no matter how times Steve or others told him that he wasn't responsible, that the Soldier wasn't truly him, but a remote-controlled robot, he couldn't shake the guilt, _wouldn't_ shake it. But he didn't want Nika to feel the same type of pain, not ever, not if he could help her.

Clearing his throat nervously, Bucky hesitantly extended a shred of his heart, begging silently for Nika to be gentle with the miserable offering. "Want to go for a walk? I don't know if you've found it yet, but there's this amazing rock formation a couple miles away-"

"Right next to a small pool? And that family of gerbil-looking rodents?" Nika perked up, turning energized eyes towards Bucky, stealing his breath.

"Yeah."

"I found it a few days ago, it's beautiful there. Sure, let's go." Nika sprang to her feet, brushing off her ass and grinned down at Bucky, her smile infectious. Right now she looked like who she should, a vibrant young woman with the world at her fingertips, not a miserable wreck, a prisoner of HYDRA war trying to put herself back together; the change in her demeanour sent a pang through Bucky, he would lie, cheat and steal to see that light in her eyes again, to see it all the time, to never seen her violet eyes bruise-coloured with confused shame again. Stiffly, muscles popping, he stood and Nika grinned wider.

"You sound like an old man," she teased.

"I _am_ an old man." Bucky retorted, grinning.

Her expression sobered somewhat, eyes going slightly unfocussed. "It's so weird," she muttered after a moment. She turned and started to walk, and Bucky jogged to catch up and hear her finish her thought. "I'm not my own age either," she shrugged, not finding adequate words. "I mean, I'm supposed be thirty-two, but with all the cryofreeze shit, I look twenty, maybe twenty-one. And you," she glanced at him, forehead furrowed but smile reassuring. "You're over a hundred years old but you don't even look thirty yet."

Bucky nodded to show he was listening, but he didn't really know what to say, concentrating instead on keeping his footing as the terrain became rougher. For a few hundred yards, neither spoke.

"Does it get easier?" Nika asked finally, glancing at Bucky before looking forwards again.

"Does what get any easier?"

Nika shrugged, throwing her arms wide. "Everything, all of it. The confusion, the pain, the fears; does it get better?"

"It does," Bucky stopped and Nika stumbled to a halt a few feet away, standing uncertainly as Bucky stepped towards her. He started to reach for her hand then hesitated. Nika looked down at his hand and back up at his face, then bridged the remaining distance, Bucky's hand jolting as their skin contacted. For a moment, he couldn't breathe, and Nika seemed similarly affected; lacing their fingers together Bucky began to walk again, if only to stop the sudden desire to pull her to him and capture her mouth with his, kiss her until they both needed to come up for air.

"Yes, it does," Bucky repeated, an unfamiliar warmth spreading up his arm, leaving tingles in it's wake. His nerves were alive and clamouring for more, drinking in the sensations of Nika's hand in his. "And, if you want, I'll help you... I've just been staying away because of... " he hesitated.

"My freak-out. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

"Not your fault. I shouldn't have-"

"You brought me breakfast Bucky, that's all; you didn't hand me a loaded gun."

"A knife-"

"A _butter_ knife. Harmless. At least, for anyone normal-"

"Stop it." A sudden rush of emotion hit Bucky and he pulled at her hand, stopping her forward motion; before he realized he was doing it, his hand was cupping her cheek. "What happened to you was not your fault, stop beating yourself up for something you couldn't control." His heart hammered suddenly in his chest when he finally recognized what he was doing, how close he was to Nika, right in her personal space, his thumb unconsciously stroking her cheekbone.

Nika raised her eyebrow at him and he grasped the incongruity of his words. _Wasn't he doing that exact thing? Punishing himself for the same reasons?_

Dropping his hand suddenly Bucky turned away, missing Nika's waver as she'd begun to lean into his touch. She scrutinized his back as he retreated then sprang into motion, falling in step beside him.

"You can't tell me that and not extend yourself the same-"

"Just drop it Nika." His voice was quiet, repentant.

"No." Nika took a large step, placing herself directly into Bucky's path and, if he hadn't immediately halted, he wouldn't have bowled right into her. She glared daggers at him, her eyes flashing with violet lightning. After a moment she sagged, defeated. "I get it, you know." Taking a deep breath and focussing past Bucky she began to speak again. "I'm just the accident, the mistake. I shouldn't be letting any of this bug me, because it's nothing like what you went through," anger tinged her voice now, "I'm whining and dragging my ass around like something bad actually happened to me but it didn't, I'm just a screwed up mistake-"

She broke off suddenly, dumbstruck as Bucky closed the distance between them and crushed his lips to hers. After the barest hesitation, Nika reciprocated, clawing closer, lips moving in sync with his. Whimpering slightly when his tongue swept across her bottom lip, Nika parted her lips and moaned as Bucky plunged inside, her sound matching the guttural groan that rumbled from low in Bucky's chest. They kissed with hungry desperation, lips bruising from the force, all their pent-up feelings pouring forth until their heads swam from dual lacks of oxygen and they were forced to pull apart. Breathing heavily, Bucky rested his forehead to Nika's, eyes closed, heart hammering in his chest, struggling to bring himself under control again. Nika's breath was warm and sweet on his lips as she panted with him, fingers curled into his biceps, holding him close, not willing to let him pull away.

After a long moment Bucky dared open his eyes, lifting his head and pulling away to look at Nika's face. She was flushed and breathing hard, eyes wide.

"Bucky-" she murmured.

"No. Nika, we can't." Bucky shrugged off her hands and pulled away, pain shooting through his body as if the act of pulling away was in fact tearing his fingernails out as well. He stepped back to safe distance, fighting himself, knowing without a doubt that if Nika took the initiative and stepped back towards him, that he would be a goner, lost forever in her.

Nika sniffled, then cleared her throat, dropping her head to stare at her feet. After a moment she raised her head, forcing a neutral smile. "Truce?"

His heart simultaneously breaking and rejoicing, Bucky exhaled hard and nodded his head.

Steve instantly zeroed in on the awkwardness between Buck and Nika when he returned in the quinjet a few days later. He shot a 'what did you do?' glare in Bucky's direction before wrapping Nika in a tight hug, laughing at something she said to him and Bucky felt a sharp pang straight through his heart. He wanted that; hell, he could even say he was jealous of Steve for the relationship he seemed to have forged with Nika; he wanted that easy intimacy, the freedom to sling an arm over her shoulders and feel her lean against him, tell a joke and hear her musical laughter.

He would never willingly deny his oldest friend a chance at happiness, if Nika had chosen Steve over him, but it absolutely broke the shredded remains of Bucky's heart to watch them. After his bumbling affection a few days ago, would Nika pull completely away? She had so far, avoiding Bucky at every turn, he'd not even been able to catch fleeting glances of her outside. He'd felt it, the same crazy rush race through Nika as it had through him, the lightning bolt of pure energy as their lips connected. He hadn't meant to kiss her, hadn't even realized he was going to, but to hear her defeated words, to see the sorrow and shame on her delicate face had broken something deep inside him, and his lips had crushed to hers before he could think clearly, could tell himself to stop, that he had no right and, even if he did, it was too soon.

Nika's request for a truce was both a blessing and a curse; in one way, she'd felt the same pull as him, the crazed draw and absolute necessity to connect, but she also was willing to pull away, put necessary distance between them. Nika was still far to tangled in her horrible past to even consider such things right now and, even if by some miracle she was, Bucky was mired down too. He still woke almost every night screaming from nightmares, pulse-pounding memories of HYDRA drawing yet another anguished howl from him, the brutal agony as his mind was wiped again and again, the stubborn ache of his arm, the infuriating itch of his scars.

But lately, in the last few days, his night terrors had taken on a different flavour; whether true memories or just more tangled misery his brain had decided to torment him with, Nika had now entered his nightly horrors. Images, or perhaps memories, of her made to stand in front of him, fresh blood reddening her pale, delicate skin, while he towered silently; the Winter Soldier, awakened and ready to comply. Had they been made to fight each other, as his nightmares suggested? Had Pierce wanted to ensure she was his equal or better in battle, and they'd been ordered to fight each other to investigate this? Time and again struggling to near death, until either hers or his handlers called them off, pulled them away from each other to observe with clinical detachment the wounds they'd inflicted on each other? It was definitely a strong possibility, at least in the first few years of Nika's training, before the accident; she was meant to be his destroyer, of course HYDRA would want to ensure she could not only hold her own against the Asset, but defeat him as well.

Equally as horrifying as these was the possibility that Bucky had completely wrecked any chance he'd ever had with Nika. By giving in, by losing control of himself so early, had he broken the fragile thread between them? He would have no one but himself to blame, Steve had warned him to stay away and beyond simply accepting his hand, Nika had not given him any further encouragement that warranted his actions. She needed a friend, a confidante, not a tie to her past panting after her like a dog.

Slinging an arm over Nika's shoulders just as Bucky feared, Steve wandered towards Bucky, feigning nonchalance but watching the former Winter Soldier carefully. He halted a few feet away.

"Everything go alright?" He asked, eyes boring into Bucky's.

Bucky swallowed, about to give it all away; he could never lie to Steve, when Nika replied instead, pressing a hand to Steve's broad chest in a surprising display of trust.

"Fine, Steve. Pretty chill actually."

Steve glanced down at Nika before looking back at Bucky, who schooled his features carefully and nodded. Suspicion flashed briefly through his eyes but Steve nodded back, returning his gaze to Nika. She dazzled him with a wide, genuine smile that sent a fresh spike of pain through Bucky.

"How was the mission?"

"Boring, wish I could've stayed here." Steve replied. Reaching up he rubbed the back of his head, hand rasping through the short strands. "I've actually got to head back to DC soon, as much as I want to stay, what-"

"I'll come back too." Nika replied, dancing out from under Steve's arm and falling into a playful boxer's stance.

Glancing back at Bucky in surprise Steve turned to face Nika, blocking her gentle jabs with a chuckle.

"Bored?" He drawled.

"It's beautiful here," Nika conceded. "But it's too quiet, I have way too much time to over-think and fixate on things I can't change, I'd rather be doing something," she paused then, dropping her fists. "I have to talk to Nat, we... we need to talk." The playful gleam in her eye stuttered out, replaced by a bleak sombreness that tore at Bucky's heart. Nika was too young to carry this weight and Bucky ached to relieve her of the burden.

"You sure?" Steve asked. "You haven't been here very long-"

Nika lifted her head and while her eyes were red-rimmed with unshed tears, they were calm and confident. "Yes."

Bucky had considered staying in Wakanda after Steve and Nika left; she'd attached herself to the Captain like a barnacle, Bucky thought sourly; and all but ignored him. Whether this was punishment or self-preservation he didn't know, but it hurt all the same. The night he returned, after Nika had dragged him out to ooh and aww over the sunset, Steve had tracked Bucky down and cornered him, demanding to know what had happened. Chronically unable to lie to his best friend, Buck had stuttered the truth and, while he hadn't liked it, Steve hadn't quite lost his shit like Bucky expected him too.

" _She's just got on the right track, Buck." Steve sighed, running his hand through his spiky hair. "Shuri and Wakanda helped her with this amazing breakthrough, I mean look at her, she's glowing; but she's still fragile."_

" _I know, I-"_

" _I know you love her." Steve replied bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest and Bucky stumbled to a halt; had he been that transparent?_

 _At Bucky's expression Steve scoffed gently. "You didn't really think you could hide that from me Buck, did you? We're brothers, I_ know _you, I've never seen such a heartsick look on your face before, but hold it back, okay? Give her time to decide what she wants. Even though Tony's chomping at the bit to have her join the team, she's free to do whatever she wants, and if that doesn't include you, you_ have _to accept that."_

 _Bucky heard the simple wisdom of Steve's words, but they clawed at his heart nonetheless; he'd chosen to join the Avengers, to try to amend for his past sins by fighting for good, but what would Nika do? She'd been brought into the KGB as a child with her older sister, then stolen into HYDRA without her consent; she was well within her rights to wash her hands of the entire business, do what Bruce did a few years ago and go completely off the grid, start raising chickens or spinning wool or something._

Just because Bucky's entire being now depended on her didn't mean she belonged to him.

 _Steve tutted sympathetically, slapping Bucky once on the shoulder before turning away._

In the end, Bucky had decided to return to DC too, and spent the majority of the flight slumped in the rear of the quinjet, watching Nika and Steve in the cockpit. At one point Steve had even let Nika take the controls, and Bucky had been unable to resist a wide smile at her happy squeal, a pure, carefree laugh of joy and excitement. She'd even forgotten their imposed separation and looked back over her shoulder to yell eagerly at Bucky, tease him and laugh at his cheerful reply.

Nat was waiting nervously beside Clint in the common area, waiting to see her sister again. The air was thick with tension; although Nat had not been involved at all, Nika had always been told that her beloved sister had betrayed her, and all of their previous interactions had been traumatic and stressful. But Nika was different now, having shed a heavy weight in Wakanda, woken up from cryofreeze with a new hunger for life. She was by no means cured, but was definitely in a much better place than when she'd left, would her new benevolence extend to her sister as well?

Surprise flashed through Nat's eyes when Nika arrived; Steve had just told her a joke and her laughter rang through the hall, sounding like the most honey-sweet melody to Bucky's biased ears. The rest of the team stood off to the side, informed of Nika's progress through Steve, but wary to see it or, in some accidental way, wreck it.

Nika came to a halt suddenly upon seeing Nat in front of her, losing her balance enough that she needed to lean against Steve for a heartbeat to regain it, then taken a single, slow step forward. Mirroring her, Nat took a single step as well, pulling out of Clint's protective embrace. For a long beat, they just gazed at each other, eyes conveying untold number of words and thoughts, then Nika smiled.

" _Sister."_ She greeted, her Russian lilt musical.

Nat sagged with relief, instant tears streaking down her cheeks. Letting out a choked sob she bridged the space between them and wrapped her arms around Nika, both sisters starting to cry in earnest, pulling apart only enough to wipe tears from the other's cheeks and giggle wetly before embracing tightly again. After a long moment they stepped apart and, after wiping at her eyes again, Nika turned to the rest of the team.

"Hi," she started nervously, sounding nothing like a highly trained Russian assassin, "I apologize for my... behaviour before, I hope you will all give me another chance." She startled slightly at the team's instant clamouring, their immediate reassurances and welcomes, glancing over her shoulder at Steve, who stood looking like a proud father a few feet behind her, then moving closer to the mob, tentatively shaking the various extended hands before being pulled bodily into a bear hug by an over-eager Thor. After a moment, the Captain took over, sensing Nika's slight faltering and waded into the pack, elbowing team members aside before pulling Nika to his side comfortingly, a pang shooting through Bucky's chest as he saw Nika lean gratefully into him.

"C'mon guys, let her breathe." He scolded gently before looking down, asking with a raised brow if Nika was alright.

Sensing they'd perhaps pushed too far, the team fell quiet, eyeing Nika and her blond protector uncertainly and it was Tony, the sarcastic but caring uncle who spoke next.

"Who's up for pizza? " He chirped, glancing around. "Y'all get your party clothes on, we're going to eat 'till we puke and watch ridiculous sci fi from the '60's."

"No way," Sam cut in. "We watched that Plan 9 shit last time, it's cheesy '80's action movies tonight."

"Uh uh," Clint laughed. "It's '90's Rom-Com night."

Sam blew a raspberry. "You just wanna make out with Nat-"

"Perhaps," Thor boomed, not even needed to raise his voice, "our treasured guest should choose our amusement."

Bucky's fists clenched with suppressed rage when Thor winked Nika's way and Steve elbowed him subtly, indicating that he had in fact growled out loud and not just in his head like he'd thought.

"Whatever," Tony quipped, "we've got like four thousand to choose from, by the time the pizzas get here we should have something hammered out. FRIDAY!"

"Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"Pizza night, order the usual. Hey, wait!" He turned then to Nika, raising a brow. "What kind do you want, little Widow?"

Nika shrugged, glancing uncertainly at first Steve and then Nat. "I've haven't had pizza for a long time."

Tony turned with a flourish and continued to holler at the AI. "One of everything they got FRIDAY and tell them to not to frickin' dawdle; there's an extra Benjamin in it for the delivery boy if he gets here before I park my ass on the couch!"

"Yes sir." The AI sounded almost dry.

Tony whirled again, absolutely in his element. "Thunder Thighs, you and Chickenhawk are on drink duty, and bring more than just Asgardian Mead and Mountain Dew this time." Thor and Sam traded a glance before turning and disappearing, grumbling, into the kitchen. The rest of the team began to wander away, arguing about how many bags of chips to bring, leaving Nika, Nat, Bucky and Steve standing in a small circle.

"Make yourself at home, _Devushka_. Nat'll show you your room then it's time for a refresher course in Western indulgence." Tony sauntered away, reminding Bucky of a bantam rooster.

Smirking wryly Steve turned back to Nika, offering a soft smile. "Doing okay? Tony can be a bit... much."

"He's like a little rooster," Nika mumbled, so quietly only Bucky caught it and he snorted a laugh, clasping a hand over his mouth and choking back a howl.

Frowning briefly at Bucky Steve grinned, "yeah, he's a hoot, give you the shirt off his back however, once you're in his circle." Clearing his throat he looked over at Nat. "You want to get Nika settled? Despite whatever Tony says that pizza's going to be at least half an hour."

"C'mon _sister,_ " Nat smiled, arm looped in Nika's. Gently she tugged her in the direction of the team's rooms, Bucky and Steve staying put, watching them. Steve smiled warmly as he saw the girls tip their heads together to touch, talking quietly as they walked away.

"She's so strong." Steve murmured, almost to himself. Inhaling sharply he turned to look at Bucky, frowned good-naturedly at the brunette's scowl. "Down boy," he quipped.

After a spirited debate and many threats of mayhem the stalemate was finally broken by Nat rolling her eyes dramatically and grabbing all the DVDs being waved around, dropping them into a bag, shaking it briefly and holding it towards Nika to reach in and choose. Howls of mock-outrage rose as Nika pulled one free.

"'Wall-E'? Who the hell wants to see that?" Sam was absolutely scandalized, side-eyeing the whole group. Bucky looked down, cheeks reddening.

Nika glanced at him, then stared at the cover. "It looks cute."

Sam rolled his eyes.

Wall-E was just staring in awe at his new spork and Rubik's cube when the pizza arrived. Nika stared in awe at the array of food that was brought up, while Tony played a rather highly strung host, prying open boxes to sniff at them suspiciously before announcing the flavour, brushing off Steve's attempt to point out the name of each pizza scrawled on the lid.

"I can read, Captain Underpants," he replied dryly before flipping open another box with a flourish. "Hawaiian!" He declared.

Even with Tony being no help whatsoever, everyone was soon situated back on the couches, armchairs and floor, plates piled high with pizza slices, cups overflowing with the rainbow of drinks Thor and Sam supplied, and the movie was resumed.

Nika was absolutely entranced by the movie, absurdly touched by the lonely little robot and his gentle journeys, his clumsy attempts to gain E.V.E.'s attention. The rest of the team were paying similar attention, even Sam; and it amused Nika to see the fearless and heroic Avengers staring almost awestruck at the screen. Squished between Thor on one side and Steve on the other, Nika was occasionally distracted by Thor's booming commentary, ducking a pillow thrown by Clint at their self-appointed Master of Ceremonies with a giggle, laughing outright when it cut Thor off mid-word, making him sputter in surprised indignation and consequently missing Bucky's longing gaze at her.

As Wall-E ended Sam leapt to his feet, declaring they needed some real culture and grabbing the original Star Wars, shushing token protests with a flapping hand before informing Nika she was finally in for 'real entertainment'.

Thor's rolling commentary never wavered, although it hovered between certainty and confusion at certain parts, _'Odin's Beard! What is that appendage?'_ but by the time the end credits were rolling and the team was drifting out of the room Thor had exhausted himself and lay sprawled beside a crowded Nika, head dropped back against the couch, mouth hanging open and snoring. Shrugging off the massive arm the God of Thunder had flung over the both of them earlier Steve stood, offering Nika a hand to stand as well and she couldn't hold back a giggle as Thor grumbled in sleepy protest, mumbling something indecipherable before falling silent again. After a quick whispered conversation, Nat hugged Nika goodnight then left, holding Clint's hand tightly.

"Hope we weren't too overwhelming," Steve grinned.

Nika shook her head as she yawned. "No, it was nice; back in the program we watched western movies only to learn and assimilate into the culture, never for fun, it was good to just sit back and enjoy for once."

Bucky, who'd been hovering in the periphery, felt a surge of surprised sympathy. It was easy to forget that Nika had been a prisoner even before HYDRA, kept captive and trained to be a master assassin like Nat had and, if she'd been allowed to partake in anything fun like she had tonight, it had been under the shadow of education and research, moulding her into a killer chameleon rather than just letting her be a kid.

"Heading to bed?" Steve continued.

Nika shrugged. "Yeah. It's been a long day."

"Alright, goodnight Nika."

"Goodnight Steve. Goodnight Bucky."

Bucky startled slightly, feeling an almost childish shame at being discovered, then swallowed and replied. "Goodnight Nika, see you in the morning."

Nika drifted away, the epitome of grace and, as Steve turned around to smirk in amusement at Bucky, he stuck his tongue out and flipped his blond friend the bird.

It was no surprise to Bucky that he woke later; what surprised him was that he'd managed to wake before he started screaming this time, a rather rare occurrence. He'd been the Asset again, pinning Nika down and strangling her with his metal hand, she'd not been the trained assassin, his equal in combat though, but the happy and carefree girl he'd seen tonight, totally unequipped to fight back against him; the whites of her eyes haemorrhaging with the pressure, blood trickling from her nose as she clawed at his wrist, snaking her body beneath his in a desperate attempt to break free. When she'd looked directly in his eyes and whispered 'Bucky, please', her voice cracking, he'd wakened, heart pounding, skin slick with sweat, feeling like he was going to die.

There was no way he'd be able to fall back asleep, not with the sensations of Nika's delicate throat crushing beneath his fingers, her silky skin growing slick with panic and blood and so he threw his legs over the side of the bed, yanked on a shirt, and stormed from the room. He needed air, and there was only one place he could think to go right now.

The door to the roof opened silently on greased hinges; Bucky had long ago oiled them to keep his rooftop ventures from being heard; the last thing he wanted after jerking awake from some hellish nightmare was to rehash it with a well-intentioned team-mate that followed him.

The moon was almost full, but it hardly mattered, with Bucky's enhanced eyesight he could easily see to walk around and he moved silently forwards, stumbling to a surprised halt when he saw his usual spot was already occupied.

Nika glanced back over her shoulder at him, pale skin flushing red. "Sorry." She braced to stand, "I'll go-"

"No. I mean, it's okay; stay... please?" The thought of Nika leaving right now sent a raw spike of fresh panic through Bucky, and he couldn't stop an exhale of relief when Nika nodded slightly and scooted slightly sideways instead, making room.

Awkwardly Bucky sank down beside her, conscious of his bulk and sweat-shiny skin, but the pale sheen on Nika's face told him she hadn't woken up without struggle either.

"Nightmare?" He asked quietly, unsure what to do with his hands and finally deciding to rub them against his sweatpants, the softness not enough to fully soothe his nerves.

Nika nodded, turning her head to look out over the city. The view here was spectacular, that was why Bucky had chosen it in the first place and the sight never failed to bring him at least the beginnings of peace. She took a deep breath, and Bucky found himself leaning slightly closer to hear her whispered words.

"They were furious," she murmured, and Bucky didn't need to ask who she was referring to. "I couldn't focus on their orders... I'd been so alone and... so cold for so long, then there was bright lights and noises and voices... and pain, so much pain." She took a deep breath and Bucky had to claw back the impulse to reach over and cover her hand with his.

"When I was frozen the first time, Bruce said they did it wrong, and I was left awake... I remember every minute." She looked up at the full moon for a long beat before continuing. "I couldn't move my body, couldn't speak, couldn't hear anything, I could _feel_ everything though; the icy cold, the manacles at my wrists and ankles, where they pinched my skin, this stubborn little bolt that dug into my ribs; but I was just a... a consciousness, floating in the dark, I could move _that_ body and speak, but it was like being in two places at once. The physical plane and the mental. I screamed as loud as I could but the sound went nowhere, wouldn't even echo, like a vacuum. I tried to run but never got anywhere. Nothing to distract me but my own thoughts... It felt like centuries passed and then... I was ripped away and into pain and light and confusion... like being born, I guess."

Bucky had tried before to picture what Nika had experienced, but even his darkest imaginings and brief time punished with the same torment hadn't prepared him for Nika's description. To spend years like that, it was unfathomable, it was inhuman and for Nika to be this _together_ after that horror only spoke to how extraordinary she really was, but when he tried to speak, to tell her this, his voice failed him, a deep ache settling in his chest instead.

"The Call of the Void." Nika murmured after a few minutes of silence.

"Hmmm?"

Nika pointed her chin gently, indicating the edge of the roof, the nearly one hundred stories separating them from the ground below. "The urge to jump, even if you know you never would. It's called the Call of the Void."

Bucky clenched his fists, the words stabbing deeply inside him. He'd had the urge to jump since he'd first laid eyes on Nika's face, but would he ever give in to the Call?

Nika shuddered suddenly beside him, snapping him back to the present and Bucky looked swiftly towards her, horrified to see her beginning to cry. Raising her gaze to the moon the tears made twin glistening trails down her cheeks and, before Bucky could stop himself, before he could remind himself that it was a bad idea, that he didn't deserve this and she didn't need to be burdened with him and his problems, reached over and cupped her cheek. Nika shuddered a second time and turned to face him, eyes downcast; Bucky cupped her other cheek with his other hand, using his thumbs to gently brush the tears away. After a heartbeat he leaned forwards, tears beginning to trail down his own cheeks and tenderly pressed his trembling lips to her fluttering eyelids, closing his eyes in bliss, pausing a hairsbreadth away, his forehead rested against hers, to breathe in her scent, to capture and bottle it before he was forced to pull back.

But as he began to pull away Nika suddenly reached up, her hands cupping his jaw, fingers rasping against his stubble and now it was Bucky's turn to shudder, a visceral jolt at her hesitant touch, eyes snapping open in shock. Tilting her head up, eyes searching his face before falling closed again, Nika pressed her lips to his, a faint moan escaping her as they touched, as electricity bolted through them. Something deep down in Bucky's chest sat up suddenly, shocked awake, something he'd long thought dead, starved to death by years of isolation and pain and the bloom of heat that grew in his chest stole what was left of his breath and his eyes drifted back closed as a bone-deep sense of peace washed over him; he could stay here like this forever.

Too soon Nika pulled back, Bucky leaning forwards slightly to follow her before unwillingly opening his eyes and breaking the spell. Her eyes were a kaleidoscope, pain and warmth, apprehension and peace warring in the violet depths. _I want you,_ Bucky saw, _I want this, but I can't. Not right now._

"Please give me time," Nika breathed, standing and stepping back, her hand tracing down Bucky's cheek, down his arm to briefly clasp his hand. He tightened his grip even as she pulled away, desperate to stay connected.

"Nika-" he choked.

"Wait for me, Bucky. Please." Fresh tears stood out in her bruise-coloured iris', then she pulled her hand away and ran to the door, disappearing inside.

Swallowing a moan of anguish Bucky looked back towards the silent moon.


	4. Chapter 4

"So, how's it feel, five missions under your belt, heading out to number six? Getting into a rhythm?" Sam asked, collapsing into his seat on the quinjet. He grinned at Nika. "You're doin' good, Gummybear."

Nika blushed. She'd discovered gummy bears a few months ago and rapidly fallen into a semi-dangerous obsession with them; the bloom had faded off that rose however, Nika couldn't stand the sight of those little gelatin bastards anymore, but the nickname had already stuck.

"Getting better, Chickenhawk." Nika tossed back with a grin, knowing Sam hated that nickname as much as she hated Gummybear.

Sam smirked and flipped her a friendly bird, dropping his gaze to his wrist gauntlet and beginning to tap at it.

A bottle of water appeared, dangling in the air in front of Nika and she glanced up at the profferer with a smile. "Thanks Bucky." Accepting the gift she twisted off the lid and took a drink, swallowing the cool liquid with a barely muffled sigh. She'd yet to figure out how, suspected it had something to do with his metal arm, but Bucky always managed to chill her water to the _exact_ right temperature.

Bucky fell back into his own seat with a groan, scrunching his eyes to disguise the happy grin threatening to explode on his face from Nika's beautiful smile before Sam saw and started teasing him. It had been months, _eight long months,_ since their kiss on the Tower roof. Despite the fact that it caused him physical pain to be anywhere in Nika's proximity, his nerves on fire, hands itching, body screaming to pull her close and feel her kiss again, he'd held back; burying his desires to respect her request. But that hadn't meant he'd been idle, hadn't worked to become her friend and team-mate.

Nika had been diligent with therapy these last eight months, meeting the same doctor Bucky saw three times a week at first, now only weekly. Her fears of the dark and cold were gone, and her total aversion to silence was almost overcome, she'd even begun to dabble in meditation to conquer the last of the shadows in her mind. It was always entertaining to see Nika in the lotus position on a cushion somewhere in the Tower, eyes shut and shoulders relaxed while whoever she'd roped into joining her, usually Bucky but sometimes Steve, perched uncomfortably a few feet away. Steve would give it a real try, eyes squeezed shut, trying to force Nirvana through sheer will, while Bucky usually just waited until Nika's eyes were shut then spent the entire time gazing at her with hungry, worshipping eyes.

After a few anxious weeks where Nika wavered between options and Bucky had felt like he was rolling around on pins and needles waiting, she'd decided to take up the mantle of good; joining the Avengers, to Tony's near orgasmic delight, and adding her unique and powerful skill set to the group. Like Tony had described earlier, she was like a hybrid of Nat and Bucky, a serum enhanced, highly trained assassin; able to infiltrate targets with almost supernatural stealth, then attack with almost supernatural strength. She'd successfully completed five missions so far and, although Bucky had known deep in his bones that Nika was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, he'd worried each time anyway, making sure to keep his own wide-shouldered body between her and the worst dangers.

Today was no exception. This was supposed to be a quick in and out, but if Bucky had learned anything in his extended life, first as a Howlin' Commando, then an assassin and finally as an Avenger, it was that things rarely went as expected. Whether their intel had been flawed or simply incomplete the team now found themselves tying up way more loose ends and moping up a much larger mess than initially planned for.

There was potentially one target still loose as well and Steve had split the team, half to track the loose target, the other half to finish what they'd already started. Nika was one of the appointed trackers, and Steve knew if he kept Bucky back he'd be left with half an agent anyway, Bucky's attention forever tied to her, so he'd sent Bucky out tracking as well.

He shadowed Nika carefully, staying within comm range, eyes restlessly scanning for signs of one last target. This was a small, HYDRA-funded base, not obviously affiliated with the global terror, but tied indirectly to research and development and they'd already come across of few potentially nasty booby traps the agents had peppered the bunker with. This seemed to be the new normal for HYDRA, funding and supporting smaller labs scattered across the globe, hiding their footprint through third parties.

Bucky saw Nika turn a corner ahead of him and her voice ghosted over the comm. "Dead end, nothing here... wait-"

A sense of dread began to claw up Bucky's spine and he began to sprint soundlessly towards her. He turned the corner, mouth opened to call out for Nika when suddenly the world exploded and everything went black.

Bucky coughed, waving ineffectively at the dust and debris clogging the air. His ears still rang, heart still raced. As he'd sprinted towards Nika he'd belated recognized a tell-tale _ping_ of a breaking trip-wire, but his momentum and drive to reach Nika was overwhelming and he'd turned the corner, an explosion had ripped through the corridor behind them; the force of the blast throwing both Avengers into the dead end wall. For a long moment it had been absolute confusion for Bucky as he tried to regain his bearings. He saw that the only thing keeping him and Nika from being sticky red smears on the wall was the fact that the explosion had originated from around the corner, behind them and the main concentration of the blast had missed them. Whether this had been pure luck for them to both be around the corner or part of some new insidious plan, Bucky wasn't sure, but he could tell by the change in pressure and the way the sound echoed dully that just around the corner they would find their escape route blocked by debris, the corridor collapsed.

"Nika? Nika?!" He croaked, eyes desperately trying to see through the dust and find her; part of the corridor above them had fallen in as well, and large chunks littered the floor, Bucky stumbling gracelessly over them as he searched desperately. Nika still hadn't answered him and god knew where she'd landed after crashing into the wall, how far away from her Bucky was shambling, disoriented in the haze. He thumbed his comm.

"Anyone copy?"

Silence.

"Anyone copy?! Shit!"

His boot hit something, softer than stone, giving slightly under his unintentional kick and Bucky fell to his knees, reaching out half-blindly. The haze cleared enough for Bucky to see what he'd ran into and when he finally recognized it, his heart stopped.

Nika lay face down and unmoving, a pool of blood growing larger by the second under her head.

Fear like Bucky had never felt before squeezed around his heart, kicking him in the gut and completely wiping out his oxygen; half-gasping, half-praying he reached for Nika, hands shaking and fluttering with the beginnings of real terror. For a few heartbeats he actually lost control, giving into full-blown panic for a few rasping breaths, eyes rolling and fingers clenching spasmodically before some semblance of focus returned.

"Nika?" He tried again, hands gently brushing her shoulders, pressing carefully at the back of her neck, feeling for fractures. "Nika!"

"Uhh-" A muffled groan and Nika shifted slightly, dragging her hand up from her side to press into the floor beside her head. Still groaning she started to lift her head but Bucky gently pushed her back down,

"Lay still, baby. Let me check-"

"Uhhh, dammit." Ignoring Bucky Nika pushed herself to a seated position, arms shaking with effort and lifted her face, eyes squeezed shut and Bucky nearly sobbed with relief. Nika's nose was obviously broken, angled off to the side and gushing blood down her lip; that was the pool under her head that terrified Bucky, not some catastrophic head wound, some crushed and gaping hole in her skull.

Exhaling raggedly Bucky cupped Nika's cheek, so overwhelmed at the moment that he couldn't do anything more than gasp, repeat her name like a mantra. Finally Nika looked up at him, a bruise already darkening the delicate skin around her eyes. Her forehead furrowed as she pressed her sleeve to her nose to stem the flow.

"Bucky? What-" She squawked in surprise as Bucky yanked her towards him, crushed her to his chest, arms snaking around her and half-sobbed into her neck.

"Bucky?"

"I thought-, fuck baby, I saw the blood and-" he burrowed his head deeper, inhaling her scent and wincing as his muscles almost painfully loosened. Pulling back to look once more at her face he clamped down hard on his emotions, forcing himself to focus on her injury and not the horror of what might have been. He reached down to adjust her legs, to help her sit more upright but pulled back sharply when Nika hissed, jolting roughly in his arms.

"What the fuck?!" She spat, before inhaling sharply, hands hovering uncertainly above her thigh. Bucky followed her glare and swallowed hard.

Protruding slightly just above and beside her knee was a chunk of rebar. The faint lump visible under her combat pants showed that a large portion of it was buried deep in her thigh, running parallel to her femur. In the hazy darkness her pants were soaked, sticky with blood and Bucky reached for his belt, yanking it off and wrapping it tightly midway on her thigh, pulling it tight.

"Sorry baby," he murmured as Nika hissed in response, hands clamping on his.

"S'ok," She breathed deeply and raised her head. "My nose is broken, right?"

Bucky nodded.

"And you'll have to pull this rebar out?"

"Yeah, sorry baby."

"We're trapped here?

"Think so, either there was an EM pulse or the collapse is blocking our comms, we're stuck until the team finds us."

Nika sighed then nodded. "Are you hurt?"

Bucky fell silent, quickly evaluating his own body before shaking his head. "Nothing big."

Nika inhaled deeply, squaring her shoulders. "Nose first."

Nodding, Bucky reached up, cradled the back of Nika's head with his metal hand, carefully pinched just below the bridge of her nose between his flesh thumb and index finger.

"Okay, on the count-"

"Just do it, Buck. Don't let me get all- Fuck!" Rearing back Nika clasped at her face, a colourful litany of Russian curses spouting from her lips, surprising Bucky with their fervour and creativity; after a few moments she relaxed, breathing hard before dropping her hands, grinning weakly at Bucky's hang-dog look.

"Let me see," Bucky murmured and Nika tilted her head slightly, grin widening at the serious look on Bucky's face as he scrutinized her nose carefully before nodding, pulling a clean rag from Nika's pack to gently dab at the blood on her face. "It's back in place," he exhaled ruefully. "Now your leg, baby."

Nika nodded in resignation, pulling the rag from Bucky to twist in her hands. "Same thing, just do it."

Bucky loosened the belt, relieved to see the bleeding seemed to have stopped and pulled the first aid kit from Nika's pack. Rooting through it he found what he wanted, laying the gauze and bandages within reach and twisting the lid off the bottle of alcohol. Soaking a wad of gauze he carefully wrapped it around the end of the rebar. "If you weren't serum enhanced like me I'd just leave it in and let Bruce remove it, but your body will start to heal around it and I don't know what that'll do to your leg."

"I understand Bucky, just do it fast, no countdown."

"Alright baby." He focussed on the bar, preparing to yank it out.

Nika's finger came up, gently flicking his chin and breaking his concentration. "You keep calling me that."

"What?"

"Baby. You keep calling me baby."

Bucky flushed bright red, not even realizing he'd been calling Nika by his private pet name, the name he'd given her in his mind and dreams and thoughts for months now. "I, uh..."

Nika smiled warmly and rubbed her thumb gently across his bottom lip, sparking a flash of warmth through Bucky before pulling away. For a moment they were both silent, gazing at each other before Nika broke the trance, sighing deeply.

"Okay, pull that bitch out." Bucky jolted at her words, crashing back to the present.

"Right, okay. No countdown."

"Right, no- _motherfucker!_ " Nika hissed, hands grabbing Bucky's almost painfully but Bucky pulled away, grabbing the gauze and alcohol, soaking a wad and pressing it to the wound. Nika's colourful Russian continued, again surprising Bucky with her originality and he took the opportunity of her furious distraction to pour the rest of the alcohol into the wound before wrapping it tightly. As he tied the last knot he gripped Nika's hands with his, letting her squeeze them painfully as she took deep breaths, trying to regain her equilibrium.

"I'm such a pussy," she huffed, jerking her chin to flick a hank of hair off her forehead.

"No, you're not." Bucky replied, eyes glowing with pride. "You're a fucking warrior," he reached up and tucked the loose hair behind her ear then traced his finger gently along her jaw-line to her chin before dropping it back down to their clasped hands. "I just reset your nose and pulled a chunk of metal out of your leg, you're definitely allowed to swear."

Grinning faintly Nika lifted her head and eyed Bucky, a teasing light in her gaze. "Looks okay? Or am I going to rock a boxer's schnoz forever?"

"It looks good, you always look good." The last part fell out before Bucky realized he'd actually said and he flushed, swallowing awkwardly.

Nika tilted her head, studying him a moment before murmuring quietly. "Thank you, Bucky."

"For what, baby?"

"Giving me space; time to work my shit out. I didn't mean to, but I overheard you and Steve a few days ago, I never meant to hurt you like that."

Bucky looked down abruptly, swallowing hard. A few days ago, in a deserted corridor he'd vented to Steve, lamenting the constant pain he felt, the unfulfilled desire, the abject, wretched loneliness that he knew only Nika could alleviate. This hadn't been the first time he'd spoken to Steve about it, hadn't been the first time his friend and brother had asked how he was holding up and then listened sympathetically to his sorrow, but he'd never intended for Nika to overhear.

"I'm sorry, I never meant for you to hear -"

His words were cut off by Nika leaning forwards, pressing her lips to his and he shuddered against her, flesh arm wrapping around her while his metal hand reached up to cup the back of her head, pulling her closer as he poured the past eight months of anguish into his kiss, swallowing her moan as he rumbled deep in his chest, fire coiling through his limbs.

Hesitantly, only when they were both collectively reeling from oxygen deprivation did they pull apart, foreheads resting together as they panted. Bucky was speechless, but his body clamoured for more and he pulled Nika desperately to him again, forehead furrowing when she pressed a hand to his chest and pushed back. His eyes met hers, pupils blown with desire and saw answering longing, coupled with guilt.

"Buck, I'm sorry." She rasped, fingers curling into his tactical vest and for an agonizing heartbeat Bucky assumed she meant to break him completely, ask him to stop waiting for her, tell him that she could _never_ be his. "I want this. Jesus, God I want this," she continued, voice quavering. "You have no idea... but not here. I want our first to be... "

Relief flooded Bucky, making him sag slightly. He could wait forever, as long as Nika was a certainty at the end. "Special?" He murmured, fighting back a grin, pressing his forehead to hers again. "Not covered in dust and debris and blood?"

"Not with our ears ringing and comms dead?" Nika added, smiling.

"Waiting for our sorry asses to be rescued?" Bucky chuckled. He scooted backwards, pulling Nika gently along with him. His back hit the wall and Nika settled between his spread legs, leaning back against his chest. "I'll wait baby, then... " He pressed a gentle, lingering kiss to the side of her throat, hissing in pleasure when she shuddered against him then rested his chin in the crook of her neck, arms tightening around her.

After a moment Nika took his hands and began to play affectionately with them. Bucky watched her, entranced and relaxing under her gentle ministrations like purring tomcat as she measured the span of Bucky's palm against her own before curling his fingers down one by one until the only one still extended was his middle finger. Bucky chuckled at her sass, burrowing his face into her neck.

"Fuck you HYDRA, you didn't break us." She whispered.

Nika found herself drowsing after awhile, secure in Bucky's arms, forgetting the lingering pain and discomfort; lulled by his gentle exhales on her neck, the random lingering kisses he'd press to her throat before nuzzling further into her hair, his reverent murmuring of her name, giving her a taste of the attentions her was going to shower her with; the way he'd never let her go, now that he finally had her.

"Baby?" Bucky mumbled after awhile.

"Hmmm?"

"You don't have to tell me now but... have you ever?" He let his question tail off, but Nika realized what he meant, and while it was a little random, considering their surroundings, it actually wasn't, based on the way they were clinging to each other, the direction their bodies were obviously craving to go; and while Nika didn't mind answering Bucky, she didn't what she was about to say.

Taking a deep breath and feigning a nonchalance she didn't feel Nika began to murmur. "It would be a _tactical disadvantage_ for a HYDRA agent to be... inexperienced in any situation. If I was required to be close to a man, it would not be... pragmatic to be a blushing virgin." Bucky loosened his grip, pulling away, not in horror but to look into her eyes as she continued. "Pierce himself took my virginity." She tried for a blasé tone, but her eyes began to fill with tears and a low whine of distress rumbled deep in Bucky's chest as he pulled her close again, tucking her head under his chin and stroking her back, wishing he hadn't asked but knowing that, now that she'd started, she needed to remove this scab and let the poison out.

"After he was done, and thank god it didn't take long... he ordered seven of his agents to continue; to 'break me in'. He'd given me instructions to lay still and not fight and, like a good little soldier, I did... this was before I got fucked up in cryofreeze. He didn't stay around to watch so they got a little... over-zealous, I guess," she paused when Bucky shuddered against her, but there was no point in stopping now. "They either forgot or didn't care that I'd been ordered not to react, so after awhile one of them got mad and said-" she cut herself off sharply.

"What? Nika, you can tell me. Let it out, I know it hurts but trust me it'll feel better."

 _Not this._ Nika thought bleakly. She exhaled hard, "He said, 'go wake up the Asset and let him have a go at her, that'll make her scream.'"

Bucky jolted in her arms, shivering as a wave of ice-cold horror surged down his spine. He had no memories of this, but that meant precious little, considering how many times he'd been wiped; Christ, if he hurt Nika in that way, even as the Winter Soldier he would never forgive himself. "Jesus baby, did I-" he couldn't finish, falling silent, feeling light-headed.

"No," Nika murmured and Bucky went slack with soul-deep relief against her. "Waking you up was too expensive, Pierce would have been pissed off at the waste. They lost interest after a few hours and left me alone. One came back a few days later for more, but Pierce hadn't ordered me to submit this time, so I waited until his pants were down then tore off his dick and shoved it down his throat."

Bucky swallowed hard, instinct telling him that Nika wasn't in any way exaggerating or stretching the truth.

"Word got around that trying anything with me meant forced castration followed by suffocation on your own appendage kind of dried up the queue of potential challengers." Nika pulled her head back enough to look Bucky in the eye and managed a half-smile. "I didn't submit again. My body is for me to give to someone, not have it taken."

His mouth moving but no sound coming out, Bucky could only pull Nika back against him, felt her claw tightly to him even as he clawed more tightly to her and he wasn't sure, as his eyes closed, if the sounds of heartbroken tears were coming from him or her.

After a time Nika felt Bucky go slack against her, his arms loosening slightly and she realized he'd fallen asleep, drained by their conversation and Nika could only summon a sense of relief that she'd answered his question, even if he couldn't have known the answer would be so heart-rending, and probably regretting asking; it was one less weight on her chest, not only getting the poison out, but having Bucky react the way he did, with sympathy and horror for her, not anger or shame, disgust at her failing, her contamination. Her ass was growing numb on the concrete floor and she tried to shift to a more comfortable position but Bucky roused sleepily, mumbling unintelligibly and hugged her tighter. She heard him breathe her name, like a benediction before burrowing closer, his lips brushing the tender skin behind her ear, bringing on a shiver of delight. Her body was amazingly responsive to his, seemed to crave his touch and she wasn't sure she'd survive the tsunami of passion that awaited her.

She'd felt a connection to him right from the start, but in the beginning she'd been far too messed up to even make sense of her feelings, let alone act on them. In darker, more reflective moments she'd sometimes had success in convincing herself that her strange draw to the quiet assassin was solely due to her HYDRA connection to him, her training and purpose, to be his hunter and executioner; but after Shuri and her time spent in Wakanda, she'd no longer been able to fool herself. Shuri had managed to remove all of the insidious stain of HYDRA's training, their lethal and unethical machinations, but, after she'd woken up, the warm sun streaming gently through the open window, the Wakandian princess and Captain America standing beside her bed, her first thoughts had been immediately of Bucky, where he was, was he okay, had she done or said something unforgivable to him in the chaotic mess of her memories since startling awake on the quinjet? Even with HYDRA's indoctrinated focus on him gone she still was thinking of him, still drawn to him. And when Shuri confirmed some days later that every trace of HYDRA was gone from her brain, that the simple and common words like 'evergreen' and 'sister' and 'sorrow' no longer had the power to erase her will and turn her into a soulless killing machine, she'd realized that Bucky was on her mind all the time because she loved him, that an evil organization may have initially connected them for their own sadistic reasons, but they were fated from the start, from the beginnings of time to _be._

But she'd needed to _be_ first, needed to heal and purge the residual poison from her system before she could embrace this fate, start the life she was destined for. She needed to be a clean slate, a fresh start not only as a gift to Bucky, but as a gift to _herself._ And Bucky had been selfless enough to step back. She'd seen traces of strain in his eyes at times, a tightening of his jaw or clench of his fists when they got too close sparring or joking in the kitchen, throwing together snacks for another movie night, the way his gaze would linger on her a heartbeat too long; the times they'd end up sitting together on the couch, no other spots available and he would lean slightly over, lips barely grazing her hair and inhale with a moan, so quietly and so gently that she wouldn't even notice if not for her own enhanced senses.

Steve had become her strongest friend and confidante, the one who, even if he couldn't relate to her HYDRA horrors, was unfailingly strong and sympathetic, a rock-hard and dependable shoulder to cry on; the one who smiled slyly when Nika first confessed her feelings for Bucky to him and reassured her that not only were her feelings reciprocated, but Bucky would wait as long as she needed, that the man who was at one time the most feared man in the world was also the softest.

"-ky? Nik-... copy?" Their comms squawked to life, tinny static erupting, startling them both, Bucky's arms tightening around Nika's almost painfully for a half-second before his head snapped up, awake and alert.

"Steve?" Bucky barked, thumbing his comm.

"-cky?"

"Copy."

"-K? We... look-... hours."

"We're stuck in a cave-in, corridor 7C."

"... hurt?"

"Nika's banged up, she'll need to see Bruce."

"...most there... -and by."

"Copy." Bucky grinned widely, reaching up to cup Nika's cheek. "See, nothing to worry about, they found us."

Nika scoffed good-naturedly. "I wasn't scared, I was just thinking ahead to what I was going to have to listen to when you got bored and started singing. Karaoke last time was almost painful." She laughed out loud when Bucky elbowed her, wrapping a thick arm around her neck and pulling her close, her laugh morphing into a squeal as he burrowed into her throat, biting playfully.

"I love you, baby." Bucky breathed, then tensed. Although it was far from secret, he hadn't meant to utter those three little words yet. He pulled away, ready to start babbling, tell Nika that it was alright, to forget what he'd said, that he wasn't expecting her to respond yet just but he fell silent, entranced by the look in her eyes.

Warmth and love blazed in her violet eyes, turning them amethyst. She reached up, her hand warm against his cheek and he leaned into her touch, eyes threatening to flutter shut in relaxed bliss.

"Bucky, I-"

A thunderous _boom_ interrupted her next words and they exploded apart and to their feet instinctively, ready to fight back. Another boom, then-

"Buc- Nik-"

Sighing in mingled relief and frustration Bucky thumbed his comm and began to pick his way through the rubble. "Yeah, Steve?"

Another crash and Bucky took a few steps back, waving away the cloud of dust rising in his face. Nika moved to join him, watched as the wall of rubble shook, small chunks beginning to fall. She felt Bucky nudge her fingers with his, then grip her hand, lacing his fingers through hers and squeezing; she squeezed back, leaning against his shoulder. A large chunk rolled down, landing with a crash at their feet and making them dance out of the way then a flashlight shone in, blinding them.

"Hey!" Bucky barked, holding up a shielding hand.

"Oh, sorry!" Steve's face appeared in the gap instead, grinning widely. "Hey Nika." There was a slapping sound and he frowned, then a muffled scuffling. His face disappeared and Nat was suddenly visible.

" _Sister, are you okay?"_ In her worry, Nat slipped back into rapid-fire Russian.

"I'm fine Nat, Bucky's a good nurse." She grinned when Bucky nudged her and Nat's eyes narrowed for a second before a smile touched her eyes and she nodded slightly.

More scuffling, then Steve again. "Get back, you two. I'm going to hit it hard."

"Okay." Bucky gripped Nika's arm and pulled her away, herding her into the farthest corner and she was just amused enough to not fight back. Nanny Bucky was going to be interesting, if mildly suffocating. Pushing her gently but inexorably to her knees he crowded behind her, enveloping and shielding her with his body as the sounds of hammering and thudding grew louder behind them. Bucky's broad shoulders blocked out all but the loudest crashes and she felt the walls shaking slightly.

"Buck, I'm okay. You don't need to shield me."

"I'm not letting you get hurt again," he muttered by her ear. "I finally got you, I'm not jeopardizing that."

Nika sighed slightly. That would be a fight for another day; Bucky was not going to hamper her taking part in missions, or helping out the team with an over-inflated protector complex.

One last thunderous _boom_ and Nika heard debris shower the walls around them. Bucky grunted sharply in pain as something hit him in the back, knocking him into Nika, pressing her harder into the corner.

"Bucky?" Nika hated the screech of emerging panic in her voice as she pushed back, twisting like a cat beneath Bucky's body to see his face.

Sweat shone on his brow, but he managed a smile. "I'm good, baby." He rolled his shoulder and winced. "Pretty good bruise I think."

"Buck? Nika?" Steve appeared around the corner, dust swirling in his wake.

"What the hell, man?" Bucky grumbled. kicking away a boulder the size of melon, the one that hit him, and rising to his feet. "You use a grenade or something?"

Sam appeared behind him, shrugging. "Quit bein' a pussy, Barnes. You okay, Gummybear?"

"Yeah, you get that last guy?"

"While you two were in here playin' around? Yeah."

Nika rolled her eyes good naturedly, pushing imaginary glasses up her nose with her middle finger before yelping in surprised pain as she touched the tender bridge. Sam snickered, already gauging by her black eyes that she'd broken her nose and Bucky tutted in disapproval, throwing Sam a glower before pulling Nika to his side and pressing a kiss to her temple, resting his forehead to her hair and closing his eyes peacefully, his arms tightening around her; making the rest of the team stop dead and stare, jaws dropping. Bucky's feelings for Nika were at least suspected by everyone, if not outright known, but no one expected such a blatant show from the normally shy and reserved Bucky. Pulling away Bucky glanced around and grinned somewhat bashfully, but with a hint of pride in his eyes, he was staking his claim.

"C'mon, lovebirds." Sam grumbled, turning on his heel. "Or should we give you guys some time alone?"

"If I didn't know better Chickenhawk, I'd say you were jealous," Nika called teasingly.

"Of you or Tin Man?" Sam shot back playfully.

"Enough." Steve declared, zeroing in on Nika. "Can you walk?" He glanced down at her leg and Nika followed his gaze.

"Shit," she grumbled. Sometime in the last little bit, either when she'd leapt to her feet at the first booms, or when Bucky had pushed her down into the corner, her thigh had begun to bleed again and her pants leg was again wet with blood. Thick arms scooped under her knees and behind her shoulders, making Nika squeak as Bucky picked her up effortlessly, holding her to his chest bridal style.

"Bucky, I can walk."

"Yeah, but you're not; you're bleeding again, you probably need stitches."

"Don't bother arguing," Sam called from farther ahead. "Mother hen's acluckin'. You're going to get nannied to death now."

Bucky's growl held a hint of real steel and Steve rested a hand on his shoulder silently, cutting a glare to his oldest friend. Bucky huffed and dropped his head to nuzzle into Nika's hair a moment before lifting it and resuming his cautious trek through the corridor, missing Nat's quick nod of approval.

The flight back was quiet. Sam seemed to have petered out with his teasing of Bucky and sprawled half-asleep in his seat, earphones in. Clint and Nat were seated together, apart from everyone else, heads touching, either asleep or talking and Steve was in the cockpit. Nika had tried to sit up there with him, she'd been co-piloting off and on to learn how to fly for the last few months but Steve just grinned and waved her away.

"Go sit with Bucky," he smiled, genuinely happy for them, "I can handle this." His brows furrowed in mock-seriousness and he pointed a stern finger at her. "But behave."

"Yes dad," Nika grinned, leaning forwards to plant a kiss on his tousled hair. Nika loved him like a big brother, and she'd wormed her way into a special place in Steve's heart, a treasured little sister for him to fuss over and tease and guide. Ruffling his hair a little extra, earning a gentle head butt in return Nika left the cockpit and moved back to Bucky's side.

He reached up eagerly for her as she approached and pulled Nika down into his lap, ignoring Steve's tut of disapproval from the cockpit. Forever the stickler for rules Steve usually insisted on everyone sitting in their own seats, belts on but Bucky didn't care right now, he just wanted to hold her.

"Stop walking around," he chastised gently, cupping her face and stroking his thumb along her cheekbone. "You're going to start bleeding again."

"I'm not made of glass, Buck." Nika protested.

Bucky opened his mouth to reply but Nika clasped his chin, pushing his mouth closed. Her fingers rasped against his stubble as she stroked his jaw gently to soften what she was about to say. "I can't be smothered, Bucky. I've been lorded over and controlled my whole life; I can't do it anymore."

Surprise and fear flashed briefly through Bucky's eyes and Nika felt a flare of guilt; she hadn't meant to sound so immovable, but she needed to assert herself. He lowered his head to rest his forehead to hers and murmured, his voice thick with emotion, fraught with fear that he'd already fucked up and pushed her away.

"I would never try to control you. Jesus baby, out of everyone, you think I don't know how it hurts to not be in control of your own life?" He pulled away slightly, fingertips stroking desperately at her cheek, her jaw, her throat before finally coiling into her hair. "Please. Please don't push me away."

His fear was so visceral it sent chills down Nika's spine and, knowing words weren't enough right now, closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his.

Bucky whined, a pure animal whimper of relief and pulled Nika closer, his kiss desperate, deepening by the second. His extreme reaction frightened Nika slightly, not because it made her think she would have to put her own wants and needs on hold to keep from distressing him, but because she hadn't truly realized the depth of his feelings for her. She'd imagined her love to be slightly one-sided, not believing herself worthy of someone like Bucky, someone who'd fought and struggled through so much to become the man he was today; Nika saw with sorrow that, while he was a formidable man, a shining example of triumph over your past, he didn't see it, and while Nika was worrying that she wasn't in his league, he was terrified of the same. It was going to take time for him to accept that Nika truly did love him, as much as he loved her, and that he was deserving of it.

He pulled away with a ragged moan, panting, pressing his forehead to hers and she reached up, tracing the racing pulse in his throat, skin goose-bumping as he shuddered beneath her.

"I'm not. I won't. I just needed to say it, I can't be controlled anymore, regardless of the intent behind it."

"I understand," his words were faint.

"And," Nika continued, fingers touching his lips, smiling slightly when he kissed them. "I promise to never do the same to you."

His eyes opened, blinding Nika with their brilliance before fluttering closed again as he leaned forwards to kiss her again.

His body relaxed against hers and Nika sighed in contentment, snuggling closer, despite her shaky beginning here with the team, her crazy first few days and weeks, something deep inside her just _relaxed_ around Bucky, and her body and mind just _were_ around him, free from the memories and fears; she didn't have to think about how a young woman would act with someone they loved, she just... _was_. Bucky's eyes stayed closed, even after they pulled apart slightly, and he nuzzled instead into the crook of her neck, one last heavy sigh indicating that he was rapidly falling asleep. Nika was loathe to move and decided to risk Steve's wrath by staying put, her own eyes falling shut as she fell into a dreamless slumber.

A hand on her shoulder woke her later and she yawned, raising her head from it's burrow in Bucky's throat, lifting bleary eyes to Steve. His grin was apologetic.

"We're landing soon, you can risk Sam's endless teasing and stay, or get in your own seat."

Nika rolled her eyes, "I'll come up with you." She could handle Sam, but didn't want Bucky to be harassed right now. Carefully she extricated herself, wincing as her thigh wound pulled. Bucky huffed and grumbled unhappily in his sleep, like a bear, bringing a grin to Steve's face as Nika gently murmured to him, waiting until he relaxed again before straightening. When she turned around Steve slung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, planting a sloppy kiss on the top of her head.

"You're good for him." He whispered as they walked towards the cockpit. "He... you both deserve happiness after everything HYDRA's done to you."

"So you approve?" Nika teased, secretly holding her breath; she held Steve's opinions in the highest esteem.

Steve waited until they were both buckled in the cockpit seats and he'd disengaged the auto-pilot before answering. "Both of you have experienced things that no human ever should. You're the only one who has an concept of what Bucky's experienced and he's the only one who can even begin to understand your personal hell. Even if you weren't in love you'd be connected in that way. But I saw the look in Bucky's eyes when we first found you and, even though you were completely out of your mind the first time you woke up back at the Tower, the look in your eyes too. Your hearts knew, right from the start. You both just have to make sure your heads don't get in the way." He glanced over at Nika, smiling slightly. "If there's such a thing as soul-mates, then I think you've found yours."

"You're going to make me cry." Nika mumbled, unused to the rush of emotions Steve's heartfelt words stirred in her.

"Didn't mean to," Steve replied quietly, reaching over to pat her hand. "But I meant what I said, if there's anyone in this crazy world who deserves happiness, it's you and Bucky."

"You too," Nika replied.

Steve sighed, throwing Nika a crooked grin. "They're out there somewhere, I hope."

Nika smiled widely back. "You'll find them again, you deserve it too."

Steve looked directly at Nika for a moment, long enough that she asked, her voice uncertain. "What? Do I have a boogie?" Her hand drifted to her nose, wincing as she brushed it a little too hard.

He grinned, shaking his head. "No, just thinking about the girl we pulled out of Siberia and how far you've come. That girl was broken and, I can admit it now, I wasn't sure if you could be helped, but look at you now."

"Now you _are_ going to make me cry," Nika muttered, wiping at her cheek.

"I love you, kid."

"Love you back, Captain."

Bucky roused just as the quinjet landed, glancing around blearily for Nika, half-formed sadness developing in his chest; he wanted to wake up _every time_ with her secure in his arms, then heard her laugh from the cockpit, a smile pulling at his lips from the sound.

"We're home!" She hollered, dissolving into giggles when her announcement startled Sam awake; his snore turning into a loud snort as he jolted in his seat, before he threw back a grumpy retort, an invitation for Nika to go and reproduce with herself.

She danced from the cockpit, her wide smile absolute kryptonite to Bucky and returned the friendly invitation to Sam, complete with a hand gesture illegal in most states. Skipping by the still grumbling man she leaned forwards, capturing Bucky's mouth in a quick kiss, but when she tried to pull back Bucky cupped the back of her head and held her tight, deepening it, tracing his tongue along her bottom lip and groaning low in his chest when she parted them, allowing him inside.

"Ugh... Steve! They're doing it again!" Sam bellowed.

Giggling against Bucky's mouth, Nika pressed a hand to his chest and pulled away, smiling at Bucky's low growl.

"Later," she whispered, wetting her lips and making Bucky's pants even tighter before straightening and whirling away.

"Get bent, Chickenhawk."

"After you, Gummybear."

"You love me." He laughed.

"I tolerate you."

Steve, emerging from the cockpit right them burst into startled laughter, joining Nat and Clint, who'd been quietly watching the entire exchange with the look of patient, if exhausted, parents. Sam tried to eye Nika severely, but couldn't hold it and started chuckling, shaking his head. Bucky stepped up behind Nika, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head in the crook of her neck. Surprise again flashed briefly through the team's eyes at Bucky's PDA, but faded even quicker, if this was the new normal, they were more than okay with it.

"Just tell Tin Man to keep it in his pants until you get back to your room, I don't need nightmares."

"Your virgin eyes?" Nika teased as Bucky turned his head into her neck, muffling his chuckle.

"M' virgin _everything_." Sam shot back, rolling his eyes. "For Pete's sake, I get to choose the movies tonight for putting up with this bullshit." He led the charge down the ramp, still shaking his head.

Bucky turned his head, his lips brushing Nika's ear. "I want you." He breathed, his voice low and rough. His arms tightened slightly as he remembered their earlier conversation. "I mean... only if you-"

Nika cut him off, turning and pressing a kiss to his lips, delighting in the way he seemed to melt against her. "Fuck yes, I do."

Bucky's grip on Nika's hip tightened as they entered the Tower, belying his excitement and Nika couldn't stop her own eager grin. Laying out her past to Bucky had stirred up old fears and anxieties but she couldn't in the farthest reaches of her imagination picture Bucky treating her in that way. She wanted to have new memories, _good_ memories, of Bucky rising above her, muscles straining as he groaned her name, pleasure filling her as he thrust deep, hearing him almost whimper as he spilled inside her; not pain, not the twisted sneer of HYDRA agents, their rough hands and slaps, their piggish snorts as they finished, rolling off with a satisfied grunt.

She felt her pulse beginning to race and curled her arm around Bucky's waist in silent answer to his touch, her heart skyrocketing when she felt him shiver against her, her enhanced hearing catching his barely audible moan.

"Mr. Stark needs everyone in the main briefing room." FRIDAY's voice was crisp.

"What?!" Sam demanded. "We just got back!"

"It is important, Mr. Wilson."

"Tell him I'll be there in fifteen minutes, I'm taking a damn shower first!"

Nika could have sworn the AI's response was pissy. "I will inform Mr. Stark."

Steve sighed, glancing apologetically at the team. "Everyone take a shower, get collected. FRIDAY? Tell Tony we'll all be there in thirty minutes."

"Yes, Captain."

Wordlessly Bucky and Nika parted. They didn't need to speak, their eyes communicated for them. _Shower, see what Tony wants, then we're disappearing and coming out when we damn well feel like it._ There was no way they could start something and pull away again for a meeting; this dam had been held back for too long.

The shower felt divine but reminded Nika of the wound in her thigh; upon closer inspection she could see that it was already half-healed, and she decided to forgo a visit to the medical labs, it no longer needed stitches, just butterfly bandages and tagaderm.

Her thoughts drifted as water cascaded down her body, imaging Bucky's hands instead, his body pressed tight to hers as he stood under the spray with her, fingers massaging her scalp, rubbing the knots from her shoulders, trailing lower and lower as his lips grew more demanding at her throat...

Shaking herself Nika cursed her wandering mind and the heat it flared between her legs, she couldn't show up to the team meeting a pliant, panting mess, she needed to clamp down on this _now._ A shock of ice-cold water helped and she shivered gratefully as all thoughts of Bucky were temporarily shuttered, locked away. She waited for the inevitable flash of fear, of haunting memories to dredge up, the bone-numbing cold of cryofreeze, the hiss of arctic that snarled in her ears and bit deep into her skin to sneak up on her, but it never came; the residual warmth of her thoughts of Bucky were enough to keep the chill at bay.

Towelling dry she quickly dressed and hurried down the corridor, detouring on her way to the kitchen and grabbing a handful of protein bars, pausing, then stuffing another handful into her hoodie pocket. She'd probably be robbed blind by the others as soon as they detected food, and she wanted to have at least two bars left for herself and Bucky.

Tony was pacing impatiently when Nika arrived, but she was saved from receiving the brunt of his frustrations by the rest of the team, appearing from various corridors like magic. Irritably he shooed them into the briefing room, flapping his hands at them until they settled then collapsed into his chair with a frustrated sigh.

"We have a new problem-" he broke off with a scowl as the wrapper Nika was trying to open quietly rustled rather loudly. "I said-"

"Hey! Give me one! I'm starving." Sam reached his hand across the table, making 'gimme' fingers until Nika relented and tossed him a protein bar.

"Got a spare one, kid?" Steve asked, grinning sheepishly, his grin widening when Nika smirked and sent one skidding down the table towards him. She glanced at her sister and Clint, not even needing to ask and sent a few in their direction as well.

"Can I have one?" A voice husked in her ear, lips brushing her skin and she shivered, glancing over at Bucky, his eyes dark and glittering.

Nika purposefully licked her bottom lip, pulse racing at his breathy growl then held one out. Still holding her gaze Bucky reached over and took it, making sure to cover her hand with his as he did, letting his fingers slide off her hand slowly.

She could almost hear Tony's eyes rolling so she turned to him with a teasing smile. "Do you want one?"

Tony shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Children." He muttered under his breath. Raising his head he startled slightly when Nika tossed him a bar and it bounced on the table in front of him, making the team hide their snickers behind their half-eaten bars. "Alright, I see you're full of piss and vinegar, and it looks like you finally let Frosty catch you; it's about time, I was getting sick of seeing his sorry-ass puppy dog eyes every day. But! Getting down to business, as I was saying before Romper Room started, we have a new problem."

"Enlighten us," Steve quipped, clapping his hands with a very un-Captain America-like squeal when Nika tossed him her remaining protein bar, earning a glower from Sam and muffled chuckle from Bucky.

Exhaling heavily, throwing both Steve and Nika a _'I suffer you to live'_ glare he cleared his throat and began. "As part of my agreement with the government to defend and protect the country, I have access to any and all satellites in the air, the ones they acknowledge publicly and the ones they don't; yesterday I saw this."

Pressing some keys he turned to look at the display on the wall, where a series of satellite images came up, showing what it took Nika a moment to realize was a snow-covered landscape with small vehicles and even smaller people swarming around it.

"Northern Siberia. The site of the bunker we found you in, Nika. HYDRA has decided to revisit it."

The team muttered uneasily amongst themselves, playfulness over protein bars forgotten.

"Now," Tony continued. "We blasted it to all hell and gone when we left, I mean vaporized and there was no recognizable remains left, I scanned it myself, but HYDRA's out there for a reason and if they somehow figure out that Nika's not part of the body count then we've got a problem. I wish they'd waited a few years so that godforsaken eternal blizzard up there could have completely buried the site, but they didn't, so we have to prepare now."

Nika was confused. "Prepare for what?"

Tony frowned at her, like she was missing something devastatingly obvious. "Your sister is a known member of the Avengers. The only organization out there with the technology to find and destroy a site like that, besides HYDRA, is the Avengers. If they figure out you're not part of the corpsicle mincemeat down there, they're going to realize that we have you. And they know we helped purge their shit from Frosty's mind, so they're going to assume the same about you."

Nika still didn't understand. "But... I'm Experiment 847-52X, the 'X' meaning 'failure', I'm worthless to them, that's why they left me up there to rot in the first place!"

"And, by fixing their mistakes, we've created a fresh mind for them to re-educate. One that just so happens to retain their physical training and has been taught even more here." Tony replied. "Until we figure out what HYDRA has deducted from the site, and what they plan to do, I think you need to stay quarantined in the Tower, and sit out on missions as well."

Nika gaped at Tony for a second in shock, then scoffed and glanced around at the team, expecting to see the matching scorn, but instead saw the same worrying concern as on Tony's face. She snapped her head back to him.

"You're over-reacting." She shook her head for a moment then leapt to her feet, violet eyes blazing. "No! I lost fourteen goddamn years to HYDRA, I am not letting them take another second from me. I will not hide out in the Tower like a scared little bunny. Let them come for me, I invite them to try!" Whirling she sprinted from the room, slamming the door, her rage a palpable heat left behind.

"Well that went better than I expected." Tony grumbled as the door slam echoed through the room.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'll talk to her," Bucky mumbled, climbing to his feet.

"Just keep her in the Tower until we can talk sense into her." Tony replied wearily before turning his attention to the rest of the team.

This news was like an ice-cold shower on Bucky's desire. Fear coiled in his gut, anxiety knotting his muscles. The thought of HYDRA coming back for Nika had always been a distant possibility, but looked like a certainty now. HYDRA had tried to re-capture Bucky a few times already, but had never been successful, and Bucky was in no way willing to gamble with Nika's life that way, she was staying in the Tower even if he had to tie her down himself.

He sighed in barely disguised relief when he entered the corridor and saw Nika furiously stabbing at the keypad on her door, muttering darkly under her breath in a way that would have been absolutely adorable under any other circumstance. Glancing over to see Bucky walking towards her she sighed loudly.

"Don't bother trying Bucky. I'm not going to hi-"

"Hide, I know. And I don't expect you to."

Nika paused then, turning to stare at Bucky with suspicion. "You of all people I would expect to be first in line with the rope." Nika replied, narrowing her eyes. "What are you up to?"

"Staying in the Tower is not hiding, it's being smart."

"Semantics." Nika scoffed and turned back to tap at the keypad, it chimed another wrong combination and she growled furiously, slamming it with her fist and eliciting another pleasantly mocking, slightly garbled, musical chime in answer. Bucky reached past her and covered her hand with his, stilling her movements. Taking a step closer he pressed his chest to her back and breathed deeply. His hunger for Nika had only been temporarily muffled by the news, being back in her personal space was flaring his blood all over again.

"Don't let your anger and indignation rule your better judgement," he murmured, turning his head to whisper directly in her ear. "We just want you to be smart and lay low for a few days until we know what we're dealing with."

Nika arched her spine, brushing her ass against his groin, stirring his still half-hard cock back to life. Bucky hissed in her ear as a fresh wave of excitement crashed over him.

"And are you going to help me lie low?" Nika asked, her voice dropping to a purr. The proximity of their bodies seemed enough to evaporate her anger and replace it with desire the same as Bucky's.

"Baby, I'll do whatever you want." Bucky groaned, letting go of her hand against the keypad and wrapping it around her, pulling her tight against him. Her ass rubbed his straining cock again and he gave a strangled moan. Nika tapped the keypad again and this time it chirped affirmative, blinking a merry green before audibly unlocking the door.

Nika took the first step inside then Bucky took over, pushing her the rest of the way with his body. He was shaking, panting with barely-leashed desire and he could hear and smell the same yearning on Nika. He turned back towards her after locking the door behind him and barely had time to brace himself as Nika leapt at him, wrapping her legs around him, their lips crashing together. Bucky stumbled backwards, hitting the door with a thump but recovered instantly, grabbing Nika's ass with one hand and the back of her head with the other, grinding their mouths together in a heated, desperate, long overdue kiss.

He tried to pull back, to search Nika's eyes to make sure she truly was ready, truly did want this, because goddammit, once he started he sure the hell wasn't going to be able to stop but Nika read his mind.

"Yes Bucky," she groaned. "Yes, I'm ready. I want this-" she moaned as Bucky squeezed her ass hard. "I want you, don't make me wait anymore-"

Bucky stumbled to the bed, heart threatening to explode right out of his chest. Even in his skirt-chasing prime he'd never been this head-over-heels and the seventy plus years since he'd been in this situation only made him that much more out of control; _fuck_ , he wasn't going to last long.

Dropping Nika on the bed he crawled over her, capturing her mouth and devouring it, trying to slow himself down enough to avoid creaming his jeans like a rank amateur, but Nika had other plans; Bucky nearly exploding in her hand when she snaked it into his sweatpants and gripped his straining shaft, stroking up and down a few times before Bucky pulled away with a growl.

"I can't take much of that, baby." Reaching under her shirt hem he yanked upwards, stripping Nika of it and stretched her arms above her head before trailing his lips downwards. Ripping off her bra he laved attention at first one perfect breast then the other, his cock so goddamn hard it was painful before continuing lower, pulling Nika's sweats off and trailing rapid-fire kisses up her thighs until he reached her core. Panting, he glanced upwards for permission, saw answering desire in Nika's eyes and dropped his head, covering her with his mouth.

His first taste was even sweeter than he'd dreamed and his cock twitched, trapped against the fabric of his sweats, threatening to spill before he'd even had a chance to bury it in her wet heat and Bucky pulled away, just for a moment, to regain control, but Nika's moan nearly set him off again. Her hand tangled into his hair, pulling deliciously hard.

"Bucky-" she breathed, hips arching beneath him. He reached up and held them down, gave her a teasing kitten lick that made her mewl, sending a jolt of fire through him. He dove in again, licking and sucking and laving at her clit, moaning at her heavenly taste and then she was trembling around him, crying out as her orgasm hit hard and fast and Bucky slowed, guiding her gently back down before pressing one last kiss to her trembling flesh and raising his head, face glistening, his grin wide.

Nika lay slack, panting, absolutely wrecked and Bucky could wait no longer. His nails scratched at his skin as he yanked his sweats off, pumping his suffering cock a few times as he rose above her. Nika opened her eyes and smiled at him, reaching down to grab his hips, thighs falling open for him.

 _Shit, shit. SHIT_. "Nika, I don't have a condom." _Fuck,_ Bucky screamed in his mind, _great job dumbass-_

"It's okay, I'm covered," Nika replied, arching her hips up to brush against him and a strangled groan tore from Bucky's throat. The thought of being bare inside Nika was almost enough to finish him right now.

"Fuck-" Bucky groaned. He shuddered, almost sobbing at his first sweet push inside her, then froze as he bottomed out, buried to the hilt, trying to regain some form of control before his release crashed over him like a tidal wave. His entire body quivered and trembled, never before had he been so in danger of losing control like this, in any way. She squeezed him like the sweetest vice, incredibly tight and warm, completely wrecking him.

Nika moaned, arching at the satisfying stretch of Bucky deep inside her, the way he filled her completely then he was moving, slowly at first then harder and faster, his thrusts precise and powerful; knees digging into the mattress, spine arching, the sculpted muscles of his ass clenching and relaxing with each stroke. Almost sobbing, completely overwhelmed by the raw ecstasy, Nika wrapped her legs around Bucky's hips, drawing him deeper and deeper inside and his answering groan was ragged and wrecked, barely holding on; dragging Nika all too willingly into a second climax, pleasure shooting through her like she'd never felt before then Bucky threw his head back with a roar, thrusting sloppily a few times before spilling inside her, head dropping to the crook of her neck with a groan as his body continued to press into her, filling her completely with his seed.

Finally, panting, he lowered himself fully, moving to fall beside her but Nika tightened her grip, keeping him covering her body.

"You're like a big warm blanket," she mumbled, all but purring against him. Bucky gave in, letting his body settle on hers, curling around her; he was still inside her, still semi-hard and a fresh wave of desire coiled low in his gut when Nika rolled her hips against him. Super soldier stamina; he went instantly, insanely hard inside her again as Nika nuzzled against his throat, nipping the delicate skin just below his ear as she rolled her hips a second time, not caring about their combined fluids seeping from her, coating her thighs and the bed below.

She pulled her head out of the crook of his neck enough to meet his hungry gaze then smirked, tightening her legs around his hips. With a quick snap she rolled, pulling a willing Bucky beneath her and rose above him, still impaled on his cock, knees resting on the mattress. His hands dropped to her thighs with a groan as she rocked her hips experimentally in this new position.

Nika dropped her head back with a moan as Bucky reached up to cup the swell of her breast, arching into his touch. With his other hand he gripped her hip, encouraging her to start moving. She complied and he groaned, a guttural, long and low growl as fresh ecstasy roared through his veins.

"Fuck, baby-" his head dropped back into the pillow as his hips thrust up to meet her, burying himself deliciously deep, heat rushing through him at Nika's breathy moan, her whimpering his name.

Still ravenous, still too hungry for each other to go slowly, Bucky suddenly sat up, pulling Nika to his chest and capturing her mouth as he continued to drive upwards into her. Her answering pornographic moan nearly undid him right there and then she was stealing his breath kissing him back, _consuming_ him body and soul, whimpering against his lips as another climax crashed over her, and the bliss was too great, the sensations too overwhelming for Bucky to resist and he surrendered with a groan, letting the waves of ecstasy crash over him; steal his breath, his heart, his soul as he pulsed, throbbed and spilled his willing seed inside her, inside the woman who had completely ensnared him, right from the beginning, the woman he'd waited a century for.

Vision greying at the edges, Bucky collapsed backwards, pulling Nika with him. He couldn't ever remember _ever_ feeling like this before, this satisfied, so soul-deep peaceful. Words completely failed him but Nika seemed to understand, curling into his side with a breathy sigh, their bodies still trembling with aftershocks.

For a long while Bucky floated, caught in blissful oblivion, too sated, too satisfied to do anything more. Idly, his fingers trailed up and down Nika's bare spine, aimless but needing to feel her softness beneath him. Her fingers did the same, tracing random patterns across his chest, her touch not faltering when she brushed his scars, not hesitating, unafraid and accepting of them. Warmth flowed from her caress, filling the cracks in his wounded psyche, his battered soul.

He had almost fallen asleep, lulled by the peace of the moment when Nika spoke.

"I don't want to be 'Nika' anymore."

Bucky blinked, lost. This was somewhat random. "What do you mean?" Even if his senses had been fully functional, which they certainly weren't, he'd have trouble interpreting this.

She raised her head, amethyst gaze meeting supernatural blue. "You were 'Bucky' before everything happened, before HYDRA, before Winter Soldier, you had 'Bucky' to return to after. I've always been 'Nika', sold to the program, stolen to HYDRA, abandoned in Siberia... but I'm not that anymore, I don't want to be."

"You want a new name?"

She nodded, burrowing back against his chest. "It's stupid, I know-"

She broke off as Bucky gripped her chin, lifted her head to meet his eyes. "No, it's not. It makes perfect sense." His mind sluggishly kicked into gear; there were few names out there worthy of the woman in his arms; but one came to him.

"Levka."

"Levka?"

"It's your middle name, isn't it? It's perfect." Bucky raised his head, pulling her to him to caress his lips against hers tenderly before pulling back. " _Lioness_ , it's perfect. My Russian Lioness."

"Lev." She repeated, warming to it.

"Levi," Bucky countered with a grin, like 'When the Levee Breaks'.

"Levi." The newly named Levi dropped her head back to Bucky's chest. "Bucky and Levi."

"Forever." Bucky murmured.

Levi reached over, snagging Bucky's gloved hand and squeezing. He squeezed back and Levi felt herself relax infinitesimally, drawing in a deep breath. It had been over a month since her last mission, and despite herself, nerves were creeping in. Although the emotions had been there, under the surface, Levi hadn't been romantically involved with Bucky on the last mission, and their new intimacy brought extra tension to Levi's thoughts. She would not be able to handle it if anything happened to him, if the man who so completely owned her, body, mind and soul, was to die or disappear.

Sensing her tension, Bucky leaned over, his lips tickling Levi's ear when he spoke.

"Are you okay, babe? You're all tensed up."

"Nervous." Levi admitted.

Bucky nodded, he was less than comfortable with the situation too. In the month since Tony's discovery of HYDRA's renewed interest in the Siberian base that held Levi, the team had been called out on three separate missions, and Levi had been grounded as a precaution for all of them. There had been no unusual activity from HYDRA, no overt indications that they were even aware that Levi had survived the base's destruction, and the team was short today. Both Nat and Sam were injured and out of commission, spitting mad in the medical labs. Thor had been gone to Asgard for over six weeks, with no clue as to when he was going to return, and Levi had been reluctantly called up to help.

Levi was more worried about being rusty than any threat from HYDRA, but her loyalty to the team had kept her from refusing. She would never forgive herself if anything more happened to them because she wasn't there to help. It had been hard enough seeing both Sam and Nat injured, wondering if she could have somehow prevented it by being there with them.

To distract herself, Levi thought back to the first few days after she and Bucky had finally given into each other.

Except for a few covert missions in the dead of night to retrieve food from the kitchen, Bucky and Levi had stayed lost in each other, christening every surface in Levi's quarters at least once. Some times were tangled, sweaty, frantic affairs; flat-out fucking because they just couldn't get enough of the other, needed to feel the other pressed to them more than they needed air; and others were slow, gentle, timeless lovemaking, worshipping each other's bodies, reveling in the other's bliss, feeding off their ecstasy before exploding together, voices joining into one cry.

Finally, after three days, it was Steve who had dared disrupt them. He came hammering on the door, demanding their attendance at supper that night, spewing everything from 'enough is enough, we _miss_ you!' to 'how the hell have you not starved to death?', shutting up only when Bucky finally threw the door open wearing nothing more than his black boxer briefs and a wolf-smile.

The look on Steve's face had been priceless; you hadn't needed super senses to detect the musk of sex hanging heavy in the air and he'd fallen abruptly silent, no longer so righteously indignant.

Levi couldn't hold back a giggle at the memory, biting her lip.

"What's so funny?" Bucky rumbled, pressing his lips tenderly to her hair. The amount of PDA Bucky was comfortable with now was shocking, if you'd known the man before; he wasted no chances to cuddle and snuggle with Levi, pulling her back against his chest, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her down into his lap whenever they were out and about in the common room or kitchen with the rest of the team. He wasn't afraid to stake his claim, show everyone the depth of his feelings for Levi and, while Sam and Tony would give him a hard time, Steve would always look on, like a proud father.

Having grown up without any form of closeness, besides Nat, Levi absorbed Bucky's affections like dry earth with rain, blossoming under his attention and, in turn, bringing the former Winter Soldier out of his own hesitant shell. Despite their teasing, even Sam and Tony agreed that they were perfect together, two damaged souls that made the other whole again.

"Five minutes!" Steve bellowed from the cockpit, breaking Levi out of her reverie, where she and Bucky were joining the mile-high club in the lavatory.

Exhaling, Levi checked her assortment of knives again. Being super soldier strong, she was herself a dangerous weapon, but she always felt better with the comforting weight of blades on her. Whereas Bucky was at ease with hand-to-hand knife fights, Levi was especially gifted at knife-throwing and each one of her knives was razor-sharp and distinctly forged for that purpose.

"You'll be fine, baby. I won't let anything happen to you." Bucky's deep voice eased Levi's anxiety somewhat, but she knew missions could go south in an instant, and often did. "Stay at my side this time."

Levi nodded in agreement, it would be useless to disagree, if she didn't stay close to Bucky he'd just follow her anyway.

All too soon, the quinjet landed and Levi's focus narrowed to a tunnel.

Something felt off, right from the start, and, as the mission progressed, Levi was less inclined to think it was just her nerves. Something was wrong with the whole thing, something was amiss, askew. If Bucky felt the same, he gave no indication, focused on completely their objectives while keeping Levi safe at his side.

Finally, it clicked in Levi's head, what was wrong with the situation.

"Why do I feel like I'm in a movie?"

"What?" Bucky asked, turning back to stare at Levi questioningly.

"It looks..." Levi gestured, frustrated, with her hands, searching for the correct words and coming up short. "Staged! Like this is a -"

The explosion cut her off and the world went dark and filled with agony.


End file.
